Barretts

New blog

2010-12-20T00:16:00.003-07:00

Due to... recent events in my life I am moving my blog to...

http://hopeandkay.blogspot.com

I hope you'll follow me over there! I might go private.. haven't decided yet. I have some... updating to do, and I think I'm finally ready to talk about it, but not sure I want to broadcast it publicly.

I'm in Rexburg....for GRADUATION!

2010-12-19T13:20:00.004-07:00

I started school at BYU-I Winter Semester '07...11 semesters later Fall 2010 I graduated!

During my time at BYU-I I:

Got married
Had a baby
Housed and fed 3 teenagers and a RM
Lived in 6 different places
Completed two internships
Moved to Alaska
Made life-long friends
Got divorced
and most importantly my testimony of Jesus Christ was strengthened and developed and I continued to learn that my Heavenly Father loves me and that with him I can do anything!

Oh dear.

2010-10-28T22:19:00.004-06:00

I've let another month go by without posting. There have been some things going on in my life that have just made me not really want to blog. I think I'll revamping my blog as soon as I feel motivated. Mady and I have moved to Alaska, and I'm loving my internship up here. My parents just booked my flights for me to return for MY GRADUATION! in December, so I'll be back for a few days for that, and then I'll be returning to AK in time for Christmas. I loved school, loved Rexburg, loved the friends I made, but I am ready to move on. I am getting ready to take my social work
license exam here in AK, getting stuff together to apply to grad school, and just enjoying my little one! My work had their harvest party and our theme was crayons for the staff costumes; I made mine! I think it turned out pretty good. The other picture with us wearing shower caps is from having to give my hair a "Malibu" treatment because the water out here is so full of minerals/iron that my blonde was turning orange! Ick! I've also reset my weight loss counter because I'm ready to lose some more!

More Alaska Fun

2010-09-07T18:59:00.005-06:00

:) Still alive!

2010-09-07T18:38:00.005-06:00

Mady on the Kenai River and at the new park!

Uncle Paul and Cassandra

Mady and her Aunt Shana

My cutie pie nephew Jared, the night I flew back to Idaho

Barrett house!

Bear World

2010-08-09T00:55:00.005-06:00

Riot Zone fun...

2010-08-09T00:37:00.002-06:00

We all went to the Riot Zone and it was pretty fun. I didn't get any pictures of us doing the bumper boats, because, well I was driving and I had Mady too, but that was her favorite! I thought she'd be nervous/scared, but she laughed the whole time! We also went go-kart racing, and I've never done it before, so that was cool. I took Mady in mine, so we got lapped a few times because I was a scared Momma ;) Mady got to do the kiddie boats by herself! She is getting so big.

2010-08-09T00:32:00.002-06:00

So.. I got my haircut... and

and then I got it colored.... but... It doesn't photograph well, so I guess it'll be a surprise for those at home! :) It takes.. a bit of getting used to. It's different. I got amazing reception though when I took this pic.. hehe

Saturday Morning Frog Car time :)

2010-08-09T00:20:00.002-06:00

Mady is OBSESSED with this frog car... and I have no idea why... It couldn't be more boring! But when we drive by where it's at, she begs for the frog car.

I've been terrible at posting lately....

2010-08-08T23:01:00.002-06:00

We went to the Beehive something or other, they had free dinner and entertainment. Mady's in her swimsuit because it was right next to the splash park, so she ran through that first. She looooooved the chocolate milk and ice cream sandwich!

Here's Mady and baby K! I just love him, he's sooo cute and sweet.

and finally, Hannah and Mady on Hannah's last day. Hannah, you have NO idea the positive impact you had on our lives. Prayers are answered :) We miss you already!

2010-07-18T16:01:00.002-06:00

My Social Work Family! I love these guys!

So it's been over a month....

2010-07-11T21:08:00.004-06:00

Since I've posted! So here's a TON of pictures.

2010-06-07T20:31:00.000-06:00

Mommy & Mady weekend fun

2010-06-07T20:16:00.002-06:00

2010-05-16T18:08:00.003-06:00

Another week.

2010-05-16T16:50:00.002-06:00

:) Cute

2010-05-02T21:22:00.002-06:00

So.

2010-04-26T22:57:00.002-06:00

I started my Internship at Madison Memorial Hospital last week. So far... it is the coolest thing ever.

I keep waiting to find out that I'm doing everything wrong, and everyone hates me, but so far, I like it. Each day is NEW because there are new patients with interesting (but sometimes very, very sad) stories and issues.

I'm away from my sweet Mady girl more, but I am home by about 3-3:30 each day so I still get to spend some quality time with her. We found a GREAT nanny, Hannah, who just might have been sent from Heaven. It's a relief to know she is well taken care of.

Today when I got home, I took Mady for a car ride. She has figured out that she can spot the temple from nearly every part of town and loves playing 'spot the temple'. She asked me "Mommy, go run on grass at park please?" and so we went to the park and played on the slides and I think she played on the swings for an hour!

2010-04-24T20:13:00.002-06:00

I guess I forgot to explain this picture of Garrett and Jenny... they were trying out my one time use toothbrushes after lunch... this is in Fred's office. Garrett and Jenny are the other Social Work Interns, they're great! The hospital provides free lunch everyday for us, it's awesome!

2010-04-24T20:06:00.001-06:00

Zoo last weekend...

2010-04-24T19:59:00.002-06:00

:)

2010-04-16T01:37:00.002-06:00

Fri
Apr 16

Partly Cloudy

70°

Sat
Apr 17

Partly Cloudy

66°

Sun
Apr 18

Partly Cloudy

69°

Mon
Apr 19

Mostly Sunny

68°

Shameless brag :)

2010-04-15T00:16:00.002-06:00

This might be way too small, but it's my grade report for the Winter semester! If you click on it, it will be larger. I start school again next week, on Tuesday. Hopefully I will be going to some sort of orientation at the hospital on Monday. I'm going to be taking 11 credits (3 classes + my internship)... I'm excited but nervous to start my internship!

Sunday :)

2010-04-11T19:46:00.002-06:00

It was 61 degrees outside today! So we used the bubble machine that came from the Easter bunny, and practiced our graffiti skills on our back porch.

I do not like seafood. The only thing I like is my Dad's fried battered halibut or rock fish... and salmon patties. At the end of last summer, Kendall went to Alaska for a few days and went fishing, and my parents sent back A TON of fish that was all vacuumed packed and filleted. I bought a deep fryer a few months ago ... but finally tried it out today! It wasn't quite as delicious as my Dad's, but still tasty! I think I still have .. oh 20 lbs in the freezer still lol. Anyone up for a party?

It keeps me from snacking?

2010-04-11T19:42:00.002-06:00

Kendall's mom Jenny gave this project to me for Christmas... I actually finished it like two months ago, but just got around to taking a picture of it.

This one I bought for myself last month-ish, I just thought it was pretty.

2010-04-11T18:47:00.002-06:00

This is a link to watch a clip of He is Risen from General Conference.

https://beta.lds.org/general-conference/music/2010/04?locale=eng&clocale=eng&session=4&song=12&media=video

Check this out. I'm quoting someone else:

"The last verse of this defies earthly music"

Park fun!

2010-04-11T15:29:00.005-06:00

Mady before:

Now:

My baby girl is growing up!

Racing to the swings!

Que Pasa?

2010-04-11T15:21:00.002-06:00

Here's some of us from my Macro class sorting clothes from our clothing drive for the Haven shelter in Idaho Falls. I don't remember if I was trying to look like a dork, or if that's just how I smile.

Mady's new favorite place to hang out is Barnes & Nobles

I tried to get a picture of my new glasses. I finally gave in to the dry horrible Rexburg weather... can't stand wearing my contacts more than two hours or so. Since at my last eye exam, my eye doctor kindly reminded me it was illegal for me to be driving with corrected vision.....

Sorry Amanda, not the best picture! These are our friends Amanda & Wade and Wanita in the back. Jack is in the back too, but I guess you can't see him. Amanda was babysitting Mady while I was at school, but they moved a couple weeks ago :( This was on our trip to get Chinese food... which I wish I had taken a picture of, SO MUCH FOOD!

This is Mady at our FAVORITE place to eat, Original Thai. We love Thai food. like obsessively. They know us and we practically don't have to order. It's sick. The best part is, Mady loves Thai food too!

Busy Busy Busy!

2010-04-05T21:30:00.001-06:00

I have been slammed with school and life. I will update soon! :)

2010-03-09T15:40:00.002-07:00

2010-03-02T00:36:00.001-07:00

It's been a while!

2010-02-19T18:43:00.002-07:00

Mady's first time falling asleep during dinner :)

We moved again! We LOVE our new place. We decided to move when our last electric bill was over $400. We were in an older house that was SUPER inefficient. We found a great place for a good price, so we took it! Can I just say, I forgot how wonderful it is to have a dishwasher? And a garbage disposal? Ah, the simple joys in life ;) You can kind of see in the back of this picture, but we actually have color on the walls! I misplaced our camera in the move, although I've got a pretty good idea of where it's at if I could ever get around to it. I have some cute pictures on my phone of Mady, but I can't get the cable to work, I think it's broke.
The place we moved into has a clubhouse... that has a SWIMMING POOL! So we've been going about every other day, and Mady is obsessed. Also, we're back to being a three member family! Levi moved out Monday and Lillie went home to Alaska about a month ago. I'll miss them both, but wow it's great to have some privacy again...

It is mid-terms already! I have been staying pretty busy with school... and it's gonna get even busier! In 3 weeks we have our internship fair, where we'll go and meet different internship providers in the area, and hopefully get selected! I'll start in April, which is coming up so fast!

Mady is doing great, she gets cuter and more wild everyday :) She's really had a language explosion and is speaking in sentences now. She amazes me everyday with how much she is learning, and it's really fun to see what she'll do next.

Can't think of a clever title.

2010-01-27T22:14:00.002-07:00

This is the knife Lillie got though airport security... it was just in her purse, she forgot about it. We realized after we got all the way back home that it was in there.

My little girl is OBSESSED with reading books before bed. She is also starting to say three word sentences. She has also mastered getting naked in record time, and running around announcing that she is 'naked.' Mady is also getting pretty good at getting her clothes back on. She is very independent and HAS to put her socks and pants on by herself. She's also taken to helping herself to the fridge, which is not so amazing. I never had a lock on the fridge/freezer because she couldn't reach the handles before :)

Oh... and we're moving!

Favorite pictures from trip to Alaska

2010-01-08T14:19:00.007-07:00

Mady and her Cousin Sierra... aren't they cute?

GIANT moose in my Dad's driveway!

For Mady's birthday cupcakes, I made an army of creepy Elmos

Dancing :) (Kendall's dad Kevin is in the blue shirt behind her)

First Ice Cream sundae... Shared with Mommy of course :)

Not sure who was more excited, Kendall or Mady.... and below is Mady playing on the waterbed with cousin Clyde.

Below: Mady takes her airplane safety very seriously.

Grandpa Aaron and Grandma Alison

Uncle Russell & Cousin Jared

Mady's Two Year Checkup

2009-12-19T21:25:00.003-07:00

I took Mady in to the doctor for her two year check-up a little early, but here's her stats:

Weight: 27 lbs (58%) *fully clothed*
Height: 36.3 inches (97%)

She's healthy and right on target with her development! :) I think I'll post more later, too busy now... we leave for Alaska tomorrow!

Where has the time gone??

2009-12-15T22:15:00.003-07:00

I can't believe it's the end of the semester already, and we are leaving for Alaska in 5 short days! I have been SO unbelievable busy, but I managed to sneak in time for David Archuleta! Here's a terrible picture of it:He was SO GREAT live

Trying :)

2009-12-10T23:38:00.004-07:00

Mady was VERY proud of her new found ability to get her coat on by herself... LOL!

Thanksgiving :)

2009-11-26T23:00:00.005-07:00

Why yes, she IS a prodigy :)

Here's a picture of Margaret and James hahahaha weird. And no Mady is not drinking a Mt. Dew... It's just water!! And below is Lillie, Kendall, James and their cousin Stacie, who we were all so glad to get to know better, she was great!

Here's little Miss Mady at the hotel (which was fabulous)

Mady still loooooooves swimming!

Delicious chicken....

2009-11-23T16:01:00.002-07:00

You will need:
Nonstick Cooking Spray
4 small skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup red and/or green sweet pepper, chopped (I substituted bell peppers)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
Salt
Ground black pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tb all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

You will do:
1. Coat an unheated large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. heat skillet. Cook chicken in hot skillet over medium eat about 4 meanutes or until browned, turning to brown evenly. Remove chicken from heat. (Will not be cooked throughly)

2. Carefully add oil to hot skillet. Cook mushrooms, peppers and garlic in hot oil until tender. Remove vegetables from skillet; cover with foil to keep warm. Carefully stir brtoh into skillet. Return chicken breasts to skillet. Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes OR until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Transfer chicken to a serving platter; cover to keep warm.

3. For sauce, in a small bowl stir together sour cream, flour, and the 1/8 tsp black pepper until smooth. Stir into mixture in skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. cook and stir for 1 minute more.

4. To serve, sppon chicken, veggies, and sauce over hot cooked brown rice. (I served it over couscous)

:)

Snow!!

2009-11-23T15:57:00.003-07:00

We got our first REAL snow on Sunday, so Mady got to take her snow pants for a spin ;) She reminds me of my brother Russell, he used to stay outside until he got frost bite on his cheeks. She loooooooves the snow! Mady's mommy has a love/hate relationship with snow. It's pretty to look at from inside the house....

Random...

2009-11-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

This is Amanda and Wanita... my two closest friends!

I love my Mady Girl!

2009-11-13T20:34:00.002-07:00

You have to click on the first picture, her face is priceless...

So Mady thinks that if she brings her shoes, my shoes, and Lillies shoes, and says 'coat' (since she can't reach it hanging up) that that means she can go outside. Today it was ... oh 30 degrees. AND windy! So I told her she could only go out to play if she bundled up :) She was soooo cute! She is currently obsessed with wearing her boots, and I was surprised she tolerated wearing the gloves and hat. You can kind of see that we got our first 'sticking' snow yesterday, even though it's almost all gone. She liked whacking it off the bushes.

Last night we had spaghetti and Mady convinced her Daddy that she needed a snowball with her dinner ;) & Yes we strip her down to eat anything red!

Just some fun

2009-11-10T15:05:00.002-07:00

Here's some cute pictures of Mady running around in her shirt from Grandpa, it almost fits her now, she's getting so big! Someone put the bow on her head, and she didn't even notice lol. She's carrying her Daddy's toothbrush...

Mady loves her Uncle James! (and this picture cracks me up!)

I made this play dough for Mady, it turned out great:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp cream of tarter... Read More
1 cup water
food coloring if you want

In a medium saucepan, cook the flour, salt, oil, and tarter, and the water over med heat stirring constantly until stiff. Cool and knead, out the lumps. While kneading, add some food coloring if you have chosen to do so. Store in a container with an air-tight lid

We used some of the cookie cutters my mom sent :)

We belong together :)

2009-10-31T15:45:00.001-06:00

We're huge dorks :)

Mommy and Mady

2009-10-31T15:42:00.002-06:00

Package from Grandma Alison

2009-10-31T15:39:00.001-06:00

A package from my mom showed up today, and it had a Halloween Mr. Potato Head, so here's Mady checking him out :) Thanks for the Scooby Boo boo too, that will be great for bumps! Mady liked her card too ;)

Thank you Oprah :)

2009-10-31T15:36:00.002-06:00

Oprah's show did this 1/2 off your entire purchase yesterday at Payless, so we got Mady some snow boots :) They're a little big still but I thought that would be great since she's growing like a weed. She decided she needed to wear them before bed.

Mid Terms... are over. phew.

2009-10-29T22:51:00.002-06:00

I can't believe I'm already half way through this semester. It hasn't felt that long at all. I got my midterm grades, and I am excited to report things are going well. I have 3 A's and 2 Bs. One of the Bs is because in order to get an A in the class, we have to 'do something' at some point during the semester. I haven't 'done something' yet. The other B is because the only graded thing we've had in the class at all so far is one test, and that's what I got on the test. I know I can pull that grade up though. I'm proud of myself for taking 15 credits and maintaining good grades. It isn't easy, but I know it will be worth it. It helps that I really love the program so far, and have so much respect for my teachers, they really inspire me to go the distance.

Through the stress of the new semester, etc... *excuses*!! I gained back about 3-4 lbs. I have lost 4.5 lbs in the last two weeks so I feel like I'm back on track. I got a cool app on my phone that helps me track my calories, and I am doing much better.. That seems to do the trick for me, keeping myself accountable for what I put into my body. It's too easy to think, oh this *insert food* won't matter this time... but it really does! When I have a list of what I've eaten, it brings me back to reality. I bought two new cookbooks last weekend, they are both focused on healthy meals for the family. I really like them so far, and I have started making a few of the recipies. All of them provide the nutrition information, and all have fresh fruits and veggies as the main ingredients. It's a little more expensive, since I have to double the recipe to provide for 6 people (They're only 4 servings) and take longer to prepare since it's all fresh, but so far they've turned out pretty good. Christmas hint! I would like cookbooks! ;)

I see you!

2009-10-26T21:39:00.002-06:00

2009-10-26T21:32:00.002-06:00

Mady and her buddy Levi

Gross.

2009-10-19T22:13:00.002-06:00

These are the spiders that live in our basement. These spiders are ginormous to me... we have daddy long legs and mini spiders in Alaska, so these totally freak me out. They are really creepy and fast...It took all the courage I could muster just to take these pictures!

On a much cuter note, Mady has figured out how to get in between the two front doors.

2009-10-10T17:43:00.000-06:00

2009-10-10T17:34:00.003-06:00

Lately Mady loves going up to our bed and says 'bed bed bed' (it's too high for her to get up on after we got our new mattress) and she insists on getting under the covers and pretend sleeping :)

Helping Daddy

Petting Zoo at Bear World

If you click on the pictures, they'll get bigger and you can see her face better.

We thought Mady would be terrified, but she had a blast going on the kiddie rides. It's funny because she would cry hysterically if we went near the carousel at the park.

Yum

2009-10-06T22:50:00.002-06:00

I hate pork. I don't eat it... yuck yuck yuck. Which is why I wanted to share this recipe. For the past month or so, my family has had to endure recipe after recipe from my Campbell's recipe card collection. Some have been great, some not so great. BUT tonight we had the Golden Mushroom Pork and Apples. It is a crockpot recipe. Yes, you are reading this right. I ate pork... and *gasp* liked it.

You will need:
2 cans Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed (I just used Italian seasoning, which has tyme and oregano)
8 boneless pork chops (about 2 lbs, 3/4 inch thick)
4 Large Granny Smith Apples, sliced
2 large onions, sliced (about 2 cups)

You will do:
1. Stir the soup, water, brown sugar, Worcestershire, and thyme in slow cooker. Add the pork chops and turn to coat with the soup mixture. Top with the apples and onions.

2. Cover and cook on LOW for 8-9 hours or until the pork is cooked through.
OR do what I did since I was too lazy to get up any earlier before class, and cook on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.

So ridiculously easy, and the pork turned out so tender and moist. Sauce was a little runnier than I expected though, and James swears by adding sour cream to thicken sauces up. I guess we'll try that next time. I served with lemon herb broccoli (another campbell's recipe) and crescent rolls. Fed 5 adults and one toddler. Cost about $8.

2009-10-03T14:43:00.000-06:00

1st full week of school complete...

2009-09-20T20:33:00.003-06:00

It's been a crazy few weeks.. We went to the fair the weekend before school started, which was actually pretty fun. Not quite as great as the State fair in Palmer, but it was pretty good. I even went on a carnival ride with Kendall... it was a scary one too, I screamed my head off the whole time, and Kendall says I was white as a ghost. Good times.

My classes are going alright, so far I like them a lot. I really feel like I'm right where I should be. I'm taking 4 social work classes and a D&C class. 15 credits again this semester. Tuesday I'm going to the local jail! What's neat about this semester is I basically have the same 20 classmates in all 4 of my classes, and we seem to be getting along well together.

The weight loss... well it's slowed down to a dead crawl, but I've lost 27 lbs and 12 inches. I really have to start adding more exercise into my routine. I'm trying to renew my commitment to staying healthy and my new goal is to lose 20 more lbs by Christmas. Hold me accountable!

Mady is doing GREAT! She is such a joy in our lives and I love being her mommy.

Pictures!

2009-09-20T20:17:00.004-06:00

Just trying on my new snowpants!

I love broccoli!

Buddies

Sleepy head

Daddy got a little carried away with the bubbles....

Peanut butter and apples in Daddy's work van... maybe not the BEST idea..

Lillie at the fair..LOL...

Blog overload, gotta catch up!

2009-08-31T00:46:00.003-06:00

This weekend was busy! We started out by going to dinner Friday with our friends. We went to the Olive Garden, and it was sooo good. We practically had to roll ourselves out of there, we ate so much. Then, when we got back from I.F., we decided to go check out The Craze Zone, which is a new place here in town. We played laser tag, and I WON! :) It was a free for all. This place is worth checking out if you want something to do! The laser tag area is two levels, so it's extra awesome, and they have fog machines, so you can see your laser easier. It was great to work off some of dinner.

Saturday morning we all got up bright and early at 8 a.m. to go clean the church building. I wasn't sure how many people were in the other family assigned, so we got Lillie and James to come help us. The other family ended up having like 5 people or something, so there was like 10 of us there. We got done in an hour! Then James and Kendall went and picked up a washer and dryer...it will be SO nice to have a newer washer/dryer... the ones that came with the house ... well... they function, but the dryer doesn't even have the knob to turn the settings, so we have to use pliers and just guess where to set it. We were so excited, but the plug is a three plug and we need a four, so we have to buy some new cords or something.
We left for Yellowstone around 10:30, stopped in Ashton and decided to have lunch there since it was 11:00 and we were all hungry. We shared a Big Judd's burger (DELICIOUS!) and hit the road. Yellowstone was great and Mady was pretty good the whole trip. Made me miss Alaska though!

School starts in 10 days. EEk! I've registered for 4 Social Work classes, and my last religion credit. I am super excited, but a little nervous too. Our house is about to change into chaos mode! Lillie's going to be watching Mady while I'm in school, and then she has two classes to go to in the afternoon/evening. I think James' is taking 17 credits, so I doubt we'll see much of him once school starts, and Kendall has been working crazy hours. He got a raise, but it's hard to have him gone so much.

We decided to count the words Mady knows, because I'm a little worried sometimes. She uses 32 words... does that sound all right for a 20 month old? Should she be talking way more? I feel like she's been focusing more on her motor skills, and we work with her and read to her all the time, so I'm not toooo worried, but still. Her comprehension seems really good, and she follows directions and imitates.

Trip to Yellowstone

2009-08-30T22:18:00.005-06:00

2009-08-28T18:25:00.001-06:00

Here's Mady checking out the cows. We went to the fair last Friday and Mady liked seeing the bunnies, chickens, and goats.

Chopstick fun

2009-08-28T18:19:00.002-06:00

James made us a little taste of Hungary, and it was delicious!

Isn't she looking good~slimming down!

Oh boy.

2009-08-13T20:09:00.004-06:00

Mommy and Mady having fun with the webcam :) Got my haircut today.. not sure if I'm a fan, we'll see in a week.

Now for the scary part.

I am so terrified to post pictures of myself... still really self-conscious. I hate pictures of myself so much that I wouldn't even let Kendall take them. Anyways, a few people have asked, so here they are. My total weight loss is now 24 pounds.

Mady's new BFF

2009-08-13T20:02:00.002-06:00

First... how many people does it take to install blinds? Good thing Wade and Amanda were there to help, or we would have given up :)

I have tried to get a picture of James and Mady, but this is the best I've got. Mady adores her uncle James (who is living in the downstairs apt with Lillie)

2009-08-08T15:13:00.003-06:00

These are Kendall's gerbils...he renamed them Steven and Hawking...he was cleaning out their cage so they were chilling in this box.

This dresser has been floating around since.. .I think May or so... I FINALLY got it done! I was really pleased with how it turned out, so cute! It's for Mady's room. I completely stripped it, had to patch some giant dents in the wood, sand it, replace the handles, and paint it.

A good friend of ours got Mady this cute dress from Target, and she keeps asking to wear it :) She also insists on wearing her backpack 'leash'...

Weight Loss update

2009-08-06T11:52:00.001-06:00

The weight loss ... is getting harder. I can't get motivated to work out.. it's just TOO HOT! I've still managed to lose two more pounds, bringing my total to 22 lbs! I'm still doing okay with staying off the junk food :)

Dance parade and looong hair!

2009-08-04T15:27:00.002-06:00

The first three pictures were our attempt to show how long Mady's hair is because it looks short with the all the curls. The last picture if from last night, we went to the International Dance festival parade. We saw a lot of great costumes and talented dances from all over the world. A storm was blowing in, so we didn't get a chance to check out any of the street festival shops. Mady is sporting her poodle 'backpack'... got a few dirty looks for my child's "leash" but a lot of people thought it was cute...and Mady loves it! Sorry, I like keeping my kid safe in a busy place on the street.

Dinner

2009-08-04T14:42:00.002-06:00

Here's one of the recipes I tried the other day.. once again, I'm not sure the picture makes them look all that great, but they were! They are 250 calories per serving if you use ground turkey instead of ground beef (which works out to be 3) It cost me about $5 (including the corn) since I already had a few things on hand, like the rice, garlic and lemon juice. Easily serves 4. Even if you aren't a fan of cabbage rolls, you might like it, because there isn't really much of a cabbage taste.

Cabbage Rolls

What you'll need:
12 Cabbage Leaves
1 lb ground turkey (recipe calls for ground beef, I substituted turkey)
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 cup uncooked instant rice (I accidentally used regular rice, was a little crunchy still)
1/2 ts salt
1/8 ts pepper
1 medium onion chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 can (4 oz) mushroom pieces and stems, undrained
1 ts sugar
1/2 ts lemon juice
1 tb cornstarch
1 tb water

What to do:
1. Cover cabbage leaves wtih boiling wtaer. Cover and let stand about 10 minutes or until leaves are limp. Remove leaves; drain. *This was the hardest part for me, separating the leaves and keeping the whole. Some of them ripped, but i was still able to use them. (The recipe suggests removing the core from the head of cabbage first and letting the cabbage stand in cold water for 10 minutes before separating the leaves. That didn't work very well for me)

2. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Mix ground meat, rice, 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, and mushrooms. *I added some red pepper/cayenne, and we all felt like the mixture needed something else, like chopped up bell pepper maybe.

4. Place about 1/3 cup mixture at stem end of each leaf. Roll leaf around mixture, tucking in sides. Place cabbage rolls, seam down, in ungreased square baking dish 8x8x2 inches. They fit perfectly for me, snuggly.

5. Mix remaining tomato sauce, the sugar and lemon juice; pour over cabbage rolls.

6. Cover and bake about 45 minutes or until mixture is no longer pink in center. *I had trouble with this because ground turkey doesn't cook the same as beef, but it was done after the 45 min

7. Remove cabbage rolls to platter/plate. Pour liquid in baking dish into a saucepan. Mix cornstarch and water; stir into liquid. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly (like you would if you were making gravy) Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour sauce over cabbage rolls.

Interesting article

2009-08-03T01:14:00.000-06:00

http://www.slate.com/id/2223745/?gt1=38001

Don't know how reliable it is ... but got me thinking

I forgot...

2009-07-31T00:09:00.002-06:00

On Monday, before we went to Heise, I went to Walmart to pick up a cheapie swimsuit and shorts to wear. I was planning on wearing Kendall swim shorts that I wore last summer, but um... they w and wouldn't stay on at all. So ... went to Walmart and grabbed a handful of swimsuits... and when I came out, I had decided to get one, and gave the others back to the lady.
This is the crazy part:

Even though I had found a swimsuit I liked and was going to purchase, she decided in her wisdom to offer a suggestion. She told me there was a swimsuit she thought would work great for me, and where it was. Then she said "there's only 2x or 3x left, but that's okay, right?"

WHAT???

First of all, I had picked something out already. Second, I've never even hit 1x let alone 2 or 3x... uh and are you kidding me? For the record, I bought a size 12 swimsuit, and I felt GREAT about it. :)

10 INCHES!!!

2009-07-29T22:23:00.002-06:00

Three and a half months ago I wrote down all my measurements ... today I decided to measure again. If you add up what I've lost from my hips, stomach, rib cage, chest, and thighs, I've lost 10 inches!

Heise Hot Springs

2009-07-29T19:39:00.003-06:00

Monday night we got to go to Heise for Kendall's work company party. We ate some delicious food and met a lot of people from Kendall's work, and then we got to go swimming! I was a little worried Mady would be scared, but she really took to it like a fish in water :) I even wore a swimsuit ;) (with shorts hehehe)

Final Grades~!!!!

2009-07-29T14:25:00.002-06:00

I got an A my Human Biology class!!! HOORAY! It was a 4 credit class so it bumped my g.p.a. up a whole point! :) I also got a B in my Advanced Writing class, which I wasn't sure I was going to pass... so I'm relieved about that. My major will be officially changed to Social Work tomorrow!

It was a new dress :)

2009-07-26T22:10:00.001-06:00

:)

2009-07-24T23:56:00.002-06:00

Seriously, her hair looked like celebrity hair, so gorgeous! The pictures I took don't do it justice~

There's a spicket thing next to our house, and Mady looooovvvvess playing in the water!

Hehehe

2009-07-20T23:14:00.001-06:00

So it's not love at first sight.. well not for baby Mac ;)
Look at Mady's ridiculous hair.. and she's getting to the point where she won't let me comb it anymore!

Sunday...

2009-07-20T22:23:00.002-06:00

Mommy and Mady footprints :)

Running through puddles!
Neat picture Kendall took (it just turned out like this, no messing with the color)

Totally predictable, I started feeling sick about Friday.. with a sore throat.... I ALWAYS stress myself out and kill my immune system around finals. Anyways, I was getting ready to go to church and I had a freaking panic attack. The kind where you get so hot you feel like you have to rip your clothes off or you're going to pass out?? I thought I was going to die. It's only happened a few times before (Probably 2-3 times a year) I went to get in the car so we could leave, and the button broke on my dress strap. So I went back in the house and went to bed :) Mady went to church with her Daddy while her Mommy got some much needed rest. Later a GREAT thunderstorm rolled in and it started POURING!! It was still like 85 degrees outside, so me and Mady ran around in the rain. I know that sounds like poor parenting.. and a bad decision since I had a sore throat, but it was AMAZING for the soul. I think I had just as much fun as Mady jumping in the puddles :)

:)

2009-07-16T22:40:00.002-06:00

I know it's ridiculous to post a picture of my table.. but it's our very first NEW piece of furniture we've ever had in the 6 years we've lived together. (Okay that's not true, we bought a mattress once, but does that count?) I love 4th of July sales! I'm so excited to have company now, we can all sit together!

So I realize that this picture doesn't look that great... but this dinner was soooo good. It is a recipe called Indonesian peanut chicken. I planned out to make dinner every night for two weeks. So far on Sunday we had Pot Roast, Monday we had manicotti, Tuesday we had the peanut chicken, Wednesday we had one of my favorite recipes a linguine pasta with garlic and zucchini... and today we had 'spicy mac and cheese' :)

Here are the recipes! I think they're great and pretty easy! The peanut chicken one is a little expensive because of the things you need to have on hand... but the linguine is pretty cheap!

Linguine with zucchini and tomato:
Takes me about 35 minutes to make

What you'll need:
Salt & Pepper
3/4 lb whole-wheat linguine
2 tb olive oil
1 small red onion (or more if you love onions like me)-halved & cut into 1/2-thick slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 zucchini-halved crosswise, cut lengthwise into 1/4'' thick slices, then cut into 1/4'' sticks
2 plum tomatoes (I use roma tomatoes because they're the same shape and I can't find plum here)-Quartered lengthwise, remove pulp and cut into strips
3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

What to do:
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente according to package instructions.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently until translucent. 3-5 minutes. Add zucchini and 1/2 cup water; eason with salt and 1/2 ts pepper. Cover, and cook, stirring occasionally until zucchini is tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta water; return to pot. Add zucchini mixture, remaining tablespoon oil, tomatoes, 1/2 cup parmesan, and reserved pasta water. Season with salt and pepper to taste; toss to combine. Serve immediately, sprinkled with remaining Parmesan.

Indonesian Peanut Chicken
Takes about an hour to prep and cook

What you'll need:
3-3 1/2 lb cut up broiler-fryer chicken
3/4 ts salt
1/2 ts pepper
2 tbs veggie oil
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup.. or more if you like onions!)
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/4 chili sauce (all I had was sweet chili sauce, still worked great)
1/2 ts ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 cup water
1/4 cup chopped salted peanuts
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

What to do:
1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in large skillet (I had to use a large and a medium to fit all the chicken) over medium heat. Cook chicken in oil about 15 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides (will still be sort of pink where the chicken doesn't touch the pan). Cover and cook over lowe heat about 20 minutes or until juice is no longer pink when ceters of thickest pieces are cut. Remove chicken from skillet with tongs. (I put mine on a plate covered with a paper towel)
3. Drain all but 1 tb drippings from skillet; heat over medium heat. Cook onion in drippings, stirring occasionally, until tender; reduce heat. Stir in peanut butter, chili sauce, and red pepper (the seasoning red pepper, not the chopped bell pepper). Gradually stir in water, stirring constantly, until peanut butter is melted. Once the peanut butter is melted, it will look runny.
4. Add chicken. Spoon sauce over chicken. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 5 minutes, spooning suace frequently over chicken; until suace is thickened. Serve sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with peanuts and bell pepper.

Monday

2009-07-16T22:35:00.002-06:00

On Monday we were bored so we went up to the temple to walk around and it was SUPER windy... but fun. If you click on the pic it gets bigger.. then you can see tiny Mady lol.

Eek I'm behind on pictures...

2009-07-16T22:07:00.003-06:00

Playing with Daddy before bed

I love this dress of Mady's but I couldn't get her to hold still to take a pic!

Here's a video of Mady spinning :)

Got our internet hooked up!

2009-07-02T14:24:00.003-06:00

So we moved last week and it took a week for them to switch our internet over to the new place. The new place is GREAT! So far anyway... :) It's an old house, so maybe something dramatic will happen, but so far so good. The best part about this week has been... I lost 3 more lbs.!!! Moving is an excellent way to lose weight apparently. so... I have officially, as of this morning ...

lost....

20 pounds!!
I FEEL SO GOOD! but... Still have a ways to go.

I think I'll try to post pictures of the new place later. Maybe I'll get brave enough to post a picture of me :)

I love this week! I only had one class Tuesday morning, and the teacher walked in and cancelled class! So I have this whole week off from school! I've only got three weeks left, which considering how much work is left, I'm not sure how I can do it! I've got 15 pages of freewrite left and 10 page research paper AND a 15 minute oral report! That's just one class, my bio class...sheesh I don't even want to think about how much information I'm going to cram in my head!

I love this weather! It's about time!

2009-06-24T09:05:00.001-06:00

Sunny

82°

Thu
Jun 25

Isolated T-Storms

85°

Fri
Jun 26

Scattered T-Storms

78°

Sat
Jun 27

Sunny

77°

Sun
Jun 28

Sunny

77°
51°

Mon
Jun 29

Sunny

81°

Tue
Jun 30

Mostly Sunny

80°

Wed
Jul 1

Sunny

81°

Thu
Jul 2

Sunny

82°

Fri
Jul 3

Partly Cloudy

80°

Just a few things...

2009-06-17T21:51:00.002-06:00

A few updates:

I've only lost 1 lb in the last two weeks. On the positive side, I haven't gained any :P I have however, gone down another pant size. Can't afford to keep buying new clothes though, so hopefully the saggy jeans look will come in style :)

Kendall got a new job! He is now the IT administrator for Valley Wide Co-op (stores like Valley Wide Home & Ranch and Valley Wide Agronomics) He even has an office. I'm proud of my husband! He started last Friday and so far he loves it. He's had to drive to their offices in Rupert twice already, which makes for a lot of driving for him :( but he says it's not so bad. The best part about him having to travel is he has a company car that he can drive and a gas card, so no worrying about being reimbursed and all that. He also got an Iphone to use, but it wasn't getting reception in his office, so they switched him to a blackberry. His phone is constantly going off because people from the 8 different locations are always emailing him. One lady in Rupert has been waiting 4 months to be able to print on her printer in her office.

We're moving! We found this cute little house to rent, and it's a little bit cheaper. We are actually getting more square feet for less $ BUT it's only a 2 bedroom versus our 3 bedroom right now. We do like the house we're in, but we never know when they're going to sell it. The best part about the new house is it will be in our friend's Ward. We're totally psyched about actually knowing someone in our ward and feeling like we belong.

Finally... (I don't know if this is common knowledge or not, but it's the first time I've ever heard it) I learned the coolest thing in my human biology class on Tuesday. We were talking about the different senses, specifically taste, and we talked about how there are the four 'tastes' that we have receptors for: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Well someone asked, well what about spicy? Our teacher told us that that is actually a response from our PAIN receptors. Wow, so when you eat spicy food, it's actually pain you are 'tasting' ... Once when Kendall gave his nephew Clyde a spicy dorito chip, Clyde responded "it tastes like burning!" . . . well I guess he was right.

Hehehehe

2009-06-16T21:27:00.003-06:00

I forgot me and Mady took these web cam pictures a few weeks ago :) She loves it!

Free flower vases

2009-06-12T16:38:00.001-06:00

Over the last 2 1/2 years I have accumulated a vase or two... if you want one, please come and get one! I am tired of them taking up space in my house!

Baby thing?

2009-06-12T16:30:00.002-06:00

Detailed picture

It was hard to get a good picture, but I made this over the last few months. It's like a wall hanging, with a dowel. Anyways I was thinking about sending it to my brother-in-law because they're expecting a little girl this summer. I'm going to find some cute fabric to sew and flip the project inside out so the seam and all the ugly wrong size stitching are hidden.

Mid Term Grades!

2009-06-10T13:55:00.002-06:00

Department	Course	Section	Course Title	Mid-Term
ENG	315	1	ADVWRTG/SOCSCI	A-
BIO	230	2	HUMAN BIOLOGY	A

Bone Marrow Registry

2009-06-08T17:38:00.001-06:00

http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/index.html

Okay so the thought of donating bone marrow.. is kind of freaky, but check this website out anyways. I registered a few months ago when Nascar was paying for it. Now they are doing a free drive again. They send you a simple swab kit in the mail. Please think about doing it!

I'm stuck

2009-06-07T21:36:00.002-06:00

I don't have any pictures to post since we let our sitter borrow our camera for their trip this weekend... but I'M SO FRUSTRATED... about not losing any weight pretty much for the last two weeks. I'm still sticking to the diet.. .I have had a few desserts, but I've added to my work out, so I don't think that's it. I know that weight fluctuates and all that, but grr it still feels like a set back. I'm thinking about getting brave and going to one of the fitness classes on campus.. but I've been saying that for months.. it's just really intimidating for me to go work out in front of other people.. I got hart approved shorts a few months ago, but I still feel self-conscious so I think I'll get some pants.

Thanks to all the people who have seen me around and complimented on the weight I have been able to loss, it's really really really encouraging!

2009-06-02T22:35:00.003-06:00

I don't know how this swing got out in the living room, but Mady kept insisting on getting in it even though she is way too big.

Mady's new favorite thing is to sit on the potty... who'd have thought? I seriously doubt she will be potty trained anytime soon, but she's started to tell us when she has a wet diaper by patting the front of her diaper, she knows when she's poo'd and has started taking her pants off. She also says 'potty' and goes right to the toilet. She is also dry after her naps. She also is extremely interested when I go to the bathroom. Too much information? Yes it probably is, but I've had a few people say it is way too early for potty training. What do you think? She isn't resistant to any of it, and seems quite excited about it.

Mady loves sitting in her chair!

This video is from today. I officially have a toddler who can get into literally everything. Crap. We did not show her how to do this, she masterminded this all on her own.

Mady has started 'talking' over the last three weeks. She seems to be picking up a new word each day. She now says:
Hi, bye bye, mommy, daddy, car, fan, bird, choo train, juice, potty, peepee, blankie, ducky, baby, shoes and phone.

2009-05-29T00:27:00.001-06:00

Click on this picture, her hair is so pretty!

Weight loss update

2009-05-28T14:25:00.002-06:00

I haven't said anything about this in a while, but I'm still doing great! I've lost 16 lbs! I can't believe it! I really didn't believe it could happen. Kendall says you can really see it in my face and my waist. I went down a pant size a few weeks ago, and I can't even wear the old pants without hiking them up constantly! AND now these new pants are getting loose! whoo hoo!

Oh yeah, I'm not sure if I can count this weeks loss of 2 lbs because I had food poisoning AGAIN on Monday. What the heck? Same thing again, ate, felt sick with in thirty minutes or so, fought the feeling of nausea all night and then woke up at about 3:30 and threw up violently until it was all out in about a minute. :( Then Tuesday I could barely leave the bathroom or get off the couch. Today I feel 100% though. Weird.

Saturday

2009-05-27T09:42:00.002-06:00

We went to the sand dunes with our friends Sat night and I am still cleaning sand out of Mady's shoes, the car, her clothes, my clothes, the diaper bag.... :)

Yay! The spray park is on and Mady loves it!

Bugs and Spray Park

2009-05-23T06:12:00.002-06:00

We were all excited because Kendall saw they turned the spray park on Friday and so we got Mady ready and walked down and they had turned it off already. They were just making sure it would run alright for this weekend when they were really turning it on. There was still standing water left in the slides so Mady splashed in that. I love her little swimsuit! Her swim diapers from last year still fit and we still have a whole package of them left...can't wait to go to Heise again!

This is our back 'yard' but Mady loves exploring the dirt. Mostly she loves stepping on the ants. Gross.

These stupid bugs were banging on our window for three nights and now they're gone. Two got in the house, and they are ginormous so of course I freaked out. I swear they were chasing me around. Kendall says I body slammed him against the hall to get away from them, but I was in 'flight or fight' mode! I couldn't help it!

Tautphaus Park Zoo

2009-05-17T21:36:00.004-06:00

This was Mady after the zoo.. before we even got out of the parking lot she was out!

79 degrees today!

2009-05-17T21:28:00.003-06:00

Playing with Daddy in the hot hot sun

We found this dresser at the D.I. and its finally nice enough outside to work on it!

Mady made this in nursery :)

2009-05-17T21:09:00.002-06:00

Yeah... I let her Daddy come pick her up

Daddy shoes!!

Poor nose :( Bonked it at the babysitters on their toy box

Hooray!!!!

2009-05-16T00:47:00.001-06:00

Sat
May 16

Mostly Sunny

73°

Sun
May 17

Mostly Sunny

81°

Mon
May 18

Sunny

85°

Tue
May 19

Mostly Sunny

84°

Wed
May 20

Isolated T-Storms

77°

Ok another weight loss post

2009-05-15T21:48:00.002-06:00

I lost more this week, so I've lost 10 lbs now! :)

OH and I got a A - on my first human biology exam (which covered 5 chapters, about 20 pages of study guides!!) so that was super exciting . . I've basically been living and breathing that class, so I'm glad it paid off! I'm glad I'm not taking it with a whole bunch of other classes, because I know I wouldn't have the time to put in so much studying! We get to go to the movies tonight to see Star Trek! Kendall already saw it last Sat but he wants me to see it so our friends Wade and Amanda are babysitting for us.

Weight Loss update

2009-05-11T22:36:00.002-06:00

I did better with working out last week and I've lost another 1.5 lbs. I fell off the wagon this weekend though on Friday and Saturday night. I did okay with my portions I think and calories, but I had a rootbeer float Friday night and then Saturday we ate dinner at Jack and Wanita's... the food was good, but um.. well it tasted good so that can't be good LOL.

Even more amazing

2009-05-11T20:09:00.001-06:00

So Kendall got off the phone, and University of Phoenix has ... 'ties' or something with the military, so they took Kendall's ssn and were able to pull up his G.I. bill, just like that.