Live Now

Sometimes I look at my little sheet of classes I have to take to get my BSW (Bachelors of Social Work). Its such a long list...and I haven't even finished my generals yet, and then figure in Grad School. That's approximately 4-5 more years of school. Why didn't I take advantage of AP classes and concurrent enrollment? 

Don't get me wrong...I really like being in school. You get money from the government to study something you like and then you don't have to be a custodian the rest of your life. Trust me, you don't ever want to be a custodian if you can help it, much less the rest of your life. Also, compared to having a house and some kids, this time of life is pretty chill. 

On the other hand, I would like to get up at a reasonable hour and go to my job that I love- or spend the day with the kids that I love (don't mistake this for baby hungry, cause I'm not). I would love to live closer to family and friends. 

However, I remember wishing away childhood, then high school, then single life, and now this? I think its time I learn to live in and enjoy the moment- the stage of life I am in now, because- lets be honest- its pretty good. 

-I have a wonderful husband.

-We live in a nice apartment, with fun things like a Wii, popcorn machine, and a comfy bed.

-We have enough money to go to school, have a car, have the nice apartment, eat, and have fun.

-We finally have jobs which is great considering how many people in this town are jobless and have been longer than we were. 

-We get to visit family fairly often.

Well, I don't know about you, but I feel a lot better. Maybe I just had a case of the Monday Blues.

"One problem with gazing too frequently into the past is that we may turn around to find the future has run out on us."  -Michael Cibenko

"Having spent the better part of my life trying either to relive the past or experience the future before it arrives, I have come to believe that in between these two extremes is peace."  -Author Unknown

Olive Garden Breadsticks

I don't know about you, but (usually) the only reason I go to Olive Garden is to stuff myself full of bread sticks. Their pasta is ok....their salads are also ok. Anyway, my mom refers to the breadsticks as "Fatty McButterpants," but that's probably why I like them. I was browsing on Pinterest and found a recipe. I ran to Super Savers and started my trial run right away.
[I'm pretty sure, since I started Pinterest-ing I've started cooking 99% more. Chris is grateful.]
Here are the results:

Pretty legit, eh? I'm not Julie or Julia....but they were pretty great!
(Recipe is under the "Recipe Favorites" Tab)

Productivity

Today has been a very productive day. Before 9:45 am I...
-Worked for 3 hours
-Cleaned the whole apartment
-Did a 35 minute yoga workout
-Showered and got ready for the day
Getting up at 3:30am has its perks.

Now to only continue this motivation/productive streak the rest of the day....

Awefactor

My husband is truly the best. I am so lucky. Forgive me if I bore, but I have to share.
This morning I received a husband's blessing for the start of the new semester. It was such a beautiful, meaningful blessing. It was such a good reminder of how lucky I am to be married to a worthy priesthood holder.
So, then we were off to school. We went to class and then to lunch. When we came home, I was exhausted (still adjusting to the whole waking-up-at-3:30-am thing). I fell asleep on the couch while Chris was giving me a foot rub- how did he know that my feet were killing me from work this morning?
The next thing I knew, I was carefully lifted off the couch, carried, and tucked into bed. I mumbled something about not letting me sleep too long and was dead asleep.
About an hour and a half later, I awoke to a kiss on the cheek and a back rub. What a way to wake up!
Needless to say, I am so very blessed. I hope that all my friends experience what I have someday. My hopes in sharing this are that ya'all will not settle for less than the best. Every woman deserves to have the priesthood in her home- and a loving and supporting husband. I didn't have to wait long for my perfect man...but I would have waited as long as it took.
Ok, that's all. :) Happy Wednesday!

Domesticality

Today, I was ambitious. I busted out a few of my many cook books (we got quite a few for our wedding, sort of ironic considering how I am a terrible cook...but it also perfect because I can use all the help I can get). I decided on a crockpot clam chowder soup from the cook book my mom gave us for Christmas.

It seemed easy enough...(which I guess most crock pot cooking is) but I would be lying if I said everything was smooth sailing.
First road bump....I read evaporated milk in the recipe. We didn't have any, but I assumed that it was the same as sweetened condensed milk. Dumb, I know....but to be fair my frozen hot chocolate recipe can work with both so I assumed that they were similar enough to substitute. Luckily, Chris caught me before I dumped the cans in. I ran to the store and got the RIGHT kind of canned milk.
Second road bump....Onions; 2 of them. About 1/4 of the way through the first onion I ran out of the room to shield my burning eyes. Chris took over, but soon joined me in taking cover. We chopped in shifts, and didn't get much done. My pre-med hubby said, "Imma go Chem 105 on this junk." He went to his desk and came back with two pair of lab goggles.

Don't worry about the glare...Imma Pirate.

We were then able to successfully chop both onions with ease (although there is still a small bite of onion in the air).

The rest of the process went off without a hitch. But, the real test came when we sat down for dinner that evening....

Its a keeper! Chris and I both really enjoyed the soup and are planning to make it again. 

For those of you who are interested...here is our recipe from this evenings kitchen escapades:
New England Clam Chowder
Makes 6-8 Servings
6 slices bacon, diced
2 onions, chopped
5 cans (6.5 ounces each) clams, drained and liquid reserved
6 medium red potatoes, cubed
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 cans (12 ounces each) EVAPORATED milk :)
   salt, to taste
   snipped fresh chives (optional)
Cook and stir bacon and onions in medium skillet until onions are tender. Place in crock pot.
Add enough water to reserved clam liquid to make 3 cups. Pour into crock pot, add potatoes, garlic, and pepper. Cover; cook on Low (5-8 hours) or High (1-3 hours).
Turn crock pot to low and mix in reserved clams and evaporated milk. Cover; cook 30 to 45 minutes. Adjust seasoning, if necessary, and garnish with chives if desired.

12 [in] 2012

Firstly...I am going to save you all my spiel about how 88% of all New Year's Resolutions fail each year. Secondly....I am not going to rant about how the "New Year Resolution" method is pretty much a system of failure. Thirdly...I know that there are a lot of posts floating around out there about the New Year and goals and all that jazz- I'm sorry if you are sick of reading them. Personally, I think it's great. I am all for self improvement- it is crucial to growth. I certainly don't want to be the same person forever. Anyway, if the NYR method works for you---more power to ya.
For about two months now, I have been formulating my new brain child-  
12 [in] 2012. I first got the idea from my book, The Happiness Project. Smaller, "stepping stone" goals that are more attainable are proven to be more successful. I have been drafting, redrafting, finalizing, and refinalizing my goals. To be honest, they will probably change. The important thing is progress.
I welcome January with my first "spiritual" goal of the year:

 
I wish you all the best in your goals for this year! Happy 2012!

::ciao twenty-eleven::

New Year's Eve this year has definitely been my favorite. We started our NYE at Lava Hot Springs in the mineral pools.

My Cute Husband

 After spending some time soaking...or boiling...we hit up Subway and headed to our hotel room in Pocatello.

King Sized Bed

 We took a little nap and watched a little TV and then we were off to dinner. Chris chose Texas Roadhouse- I had never been, so it was an adventure. I really liked it and I had fun watching Chris inhale his Country Fried Sirloin. That boy can eat...especially when it has to do with country cooking or BBQ. We came back to the hotel, completely full and a little sleepy. I was determined we would ring in the new year the right way (at midnight, watching the ball drop, with a kiss). I hadn't done it "right" in a few years. So, we jumped on the bed to wake up and then watched The Count of Monte Cristo. Then we opened some sparkling grape juice, watched the ball drop, gave each other a kiss and then totally crashed.

Very tired...bad cell phone photo

Happy New Year! We had a blast and are looking forward to 2012- hopefully you are too!