Snow Day!

Today was the first day in 20 years that WSU declared it a snow day. Woo Hoo! I just heard on the news that school is canceled tomorrow also. Greg is dancing in the kitchen where he had been working on his homework (which was supposed to be due tomorrow). I could hear kids (well, college students) outside all day long playing and having a good time. Every once in awhile I'd hear the strange sound of car tires spinning themselves deeper into the snow.




The weatherman said we've had 63 inches of snow so far...But we usually get 43 inches during an entire winter! We're watching KREM 2 news, and they are sponsoring the "KREM 2 BIG DIG." If you see somebody digging their neighbor's car out or helping in some way you can nominate them to be a "KREM 2 BIG DIG HERO." Hahahah! What a title! Their first HERO today was an orthopedic surgeon who walked 5 miles to get to work today.

Our Beloved Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, Passed away at age 97

From the LDS Newsroom:
"President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through twelve years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97.

President Hinckley was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the Church and had served as its president since 12 March 1995.

The Church president died at his apartment in downtown Salt Lake City at 7:00 p.m. Sunday night from cause’s incident to age. Member of his family were at his bedside. A successor is not expected to be formally chosen by the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles until after President Hinckley’s funeral within the next few days. "



Pictures in slide show also taken from LDS Newsroom.
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/

Bird Wars!

This morning I lay in bed wondering why I was awake. I was still so tired and it felt like somebody woke me up too early. Then I heard, "Tap tap tap! Squawk! Tap tap tap tap" This continued with the sound moving from side to side on the roof over our bedroom. A few minutes later I saw a large bird sweep past the window and back up to the tree it lives in. (We watch the birds out here a lot.) I looked out the window on the other side of our bedroom just as a puff of little soft black feathers floated down to the ground and settled near the other feathers that were already there. It seems like birds have designated our roof (specifically over our bedroom) as their war zone. I walked around the house and there was no tapping anywhere else. I wish I could set a bird trap to catch them or at least scare them away!

Greg's BBQ Stand!

Greg decided to make a stand for our new BBQ. I thought he did a very good job. Ta Da!


We can set it up on the deck right outside the door, so when it was snowing and Greg wanted to BBQ, no problem! Just open the door and flip the chicken!

Spinach Chicken Dinner

This is another chicken dish that is super good. I think it's kind of fun to make too. I feel like singing, like the French chef did as he stuffed crabs in the Little Mermaid movie.

You just get some chicken breasts and slice them through the middle, creating a pocket. In that pocket you stuff a mixture of freezer spinach (thawed and water pressed out of it), Parmesan cheese, swiss cheese, oregano, Italian seasoning, and onion powder. I didn't really measure it...you can just put in how much you think looks good. I also added a slice of swiss cheese to line the bottom of the pocket in the chicken. Sprinkle Italian seasoning, oregano, and paprika on top. (It tastes good and looks pretty too.) I found it easier to slice the chicken when it was just a little bit frozen still. Then it's kind of stiff and doesn't just flop around all over the place while you're using a big knife.

Bake it uncovered at 350 for about an hour. Just check to see that it doesn't look pink anymore, and the juices should run clear. If you're really good you can check it with your kitchen thermometer. Add some mashed potatoes and something like broccoli or green beans for a great dinner! Bon Appetite!

PS. I'm always looking for new (healthy) dinner ideas, so if you have any let me know and post them on your blog!

SNOW!!!

I recently began a new job as the manager of a mini storage business in Pullman. Part of my job is to walk around and check every unit to see who has moved their things out, if they left it clean, or to put an extra lock on units that didn't pay rent and remove the lock when they do pay. (This picture is only half, there's more units on the other side of the apartment...I think there are about 168 units to check)



Well, the weather has been pretty nasty with lots of snow and ice...So what do you do when you have to get around to ALL the units in the 6 inch deep snow?


(Good thing we had the snow plower come yesterday--right? It snowed another 4 inches this morning)


(This is the beautiful view out our kitchen window. There's a wheat field and water tower, and usually there's some kind of cool birds out hunting or deer early in the morning)

Greg hooked up this little car sled and we had a lot of fun with it. I drove, and then stopped and told him what units to lock or unlock. We made a great team. After the work was done we had a little fun and took some extra laps around the place. When it was my turn to ride in the back, Greg took a corner too fast and I flew off the sled. I landed and rolled in the snow, completely coating my body in a layer of snow. Brrr! Even though it was cold, we had lots of fun.

The King's First Journey

"When a false murder charge sends Jim Taylorand his family fleeing from an ernraged mob, they find themselves entrenched in a new world. Areane is a land of myth, infused with magic and creatures of legend, butit wuickly proves to be as dangerous as it is strange. Faced with assassins, black magic, and the Areane underground, Jim and his sister Diane attempt to unravel the dark mystery surrounding their arrival and their destinies; a mystery that not only threatens their lives, but the existence of a nation."

This on the back cover of the book written by Launa Sorenson...a girl in my ward when I was growing up. She started writing when she was 13 yrs. Now she is 18 yrs old and on the road to success with a few books published already! We stopped by her house while we were visiting my parents for Christmas and bought her book. I haven't read it yet (I'm in the middle of Twilight) but it looks like it will be a fun read. So if you're looking for a new book, I recommend this one! It is the first of a series of five. You can learn more about Launa and her books at LaunaSorensen.com.

Another Dinner Idea!

Sweet Chili Chicken, the best BBQ recipe known to man.



For Christmas we got a little BBQ with a BBQ cookbook from the Kelley's. Greg was really excited about that, and decided he wanted to use it even though it's snowy and cold out. He bought all fresh ingredients and made the best dinner ever! I made salad and biscuits to go along with it. You've got to try this!

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 fresh red chile, seeded and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice

For Garnish:
1 scallion, diagonally sliced
1 fresh red chile, seeded and finely sliced
1 Tbsp fresh mint leaves
1 Tbsp cilantro leaves (Most important ingredient! This really makes it taste good!)

(You also need skewers)

Cut each breast half lengthwise into 3 strips. combine chile, garlic, ginger, honey, soy sauce, and lime juice. Reserve 1/4 cup mixture. Add chicken to remaining mixture and toss to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Thread 3 chicken strips lengthwise on each skewer. Grill over medium hot coals, turning every 2 minutes, until cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. OR, Broil 8-10 minutes, turning every 2 minutes. (If you plan ahead enough, you can marinate the chicken for 2 hours to really let the flavors sink in. We didn't have enough time, so we just put the chicken in the sauce for a couple minutes and that worked pretty good too.) Drizzle reserved sweet chili mixture over top. Sprinkle with scallion, chili, mint, and cilantro. Serve hot. Hope you like it!

Fun Christmas Visit

For Christmas we were able to get away and visit our families on the west side of the state. We are lucky enough that they live about 30 minutes apart, so we were able to bounce back and forth to spend time with both sides of the family. We had fun spending time with Greg's mom and brother just running errands and shopping around Tacoma. We also watched "Hairspray" and made paper cut-out snowflakes. In the evening we played games and also introduced the Wii to his brothers and friends. That made for a good show, as I sat on the couch and watched them try to use the controllers and awkwardly point them at the screen. It's really a new concept to learn that doesn't always come naturally.

Summer's little family came up to visit too, and we got to go to the Zoo Lights with our parents the weekend before Christmas. That was pretty neat to see. The zoo was really lit up a lot with lights on all the vegetation as well as fake animals poised in the trees and bushes. Summer's baby, Ginger, was so cute all bundled up in the stroller. Her eyes were wide with wonder as she looked around at everything.

The Best Honey!

I went to visit Summer, Glen and Ginger in La Grande a few months ago, and while I was there I noticed an ad in the newspaper for fresh honey. I thought that sounded good, but never got to buy any. So for Christmas, guess what I got from Summer and Glen? Honey! I guess the story is, this family moved into a house in La Grande and were annoyed because there were so many bees and they wouldn't go away! So they decided to make lemonade out of lemons, or in this case, honey out of bees! It is completely pure honey. The only thing they do is strain out the wax and sell it to you fresh! It is very dark and rich, and the flavor is amazing. I've never tasted honey this good! I made biscuits just so I could have an excuse to eat the honey. But hey, who needs biscuits? I could just drink the honey out of the jar! Yum!

Pretty Lights in Lewiston

We went down to Lewiston with our friends, the Cornwalls, and saw the pretty lights in the park. It's sort of like Zoo Lights, only smaller. The walkways had lighted arches with sensors, and they changed color as you walked under each one. There was also a big tree covered in lights that would flash in time with the music that played. My favorite part was the tree and the jump pad. We came upon this pad (about 20 X 20 ft) with lots of people (mostly kids) jumping around and looking at the tree. There were a bunch of "Magic Spots" where you could jump and make a certain part of the tree light up. It was really pretty neat. Greg and I ran around trying to race to find a magic spot before the other. It was lots of fun.
After that, we went to dinner at Tomato Brothers. They have the best pizza!

Snowflakes!

So, I forgot to take pictures at my little Christmas party...but I took a couple afterwards so you could see how my snowflakes turned out. I had been very careful to put the beads on perfectly in the right order so all the legs of the snowflake matched, but I found that they can be very pretty even if you just put random beads on and don't spend all night trying to make them match. My friends all asked me lots of questions about the details of how to make them--maybe because I was showing them a new thing and giving instructions...but I like to let people figure it out on their own too. I think part of the beauty of these ornaments is how unique they can be, and each person can be creative and bring new ideas to the table that add so much more than just the ideas I have.

I also took a few pictures of my Christmas tree. Brother Carter was so kind to bring me a tree that he cut down in the forest. I was able to set it up and get it decorated while Greg was out of town. It was a fun surprise for him to find the house decorated for Christmas with lights and a tree!

Returning to Real Life

I feel like I've not been in real life for a long time...well, pretty much since we started plans for moving, as well as the coming of Thanksgiving and Christmas. We've got most of the house put together now, and I'm just slowly chipping away at the craft-room/office to get it to a usable state. That room has kind of suffered since it's not as important as the kitchen or our bedroom. We finally hung our pictures, and that really made it feel like home again. I love to have pictures of the temple or the Savior on the wall in a place I see often. I think that helps us have the Spirit in our home, and that's what really makes it feel like home in the first place.

The other indicators that I'm back to "real life" is that I started school. I've been out of school for almost a year now--since getting married and moving and working to support us. I'm just taking one class (Biology), but hopefully as I get the hang of my new job and remember how to be a student, I can start adding more classes. I'm attending the community college for the first year or so to finish getting in my general classes. Once I've done as much as I can there, I will transfer to WSU and study nutrition. (Graduate as a Registered Dietitian) It's just nice to go to the community college now because it saves us a lot of money (Thousands of dollars per semester) and it's not quite as big and intimidating as WSU. =)

Another indicator of "real life" is my new calling at church. Right before we left town for Christmas I was called to be the Mia Maid's adviser. I was pretty excited to finally get this calling. I've only been out of Young Women's a few years, but I had some hints from Heavenly Father that I'd be working with the Young Women again sometime, and I've just been waiting for it to happen. I taught my first lesson last week, but only 3 of about 6 girls were there. (Half the ward was snowed in and didn't come to church.) The girls are really great. I'm happy to be working with such a good group of girls, and the other leaders are fun too. Now Greg and I can go to Mutual on Wednesday nights together. (He teaches the deacons.)

I started writing some other posts tonight but haven't finished them. All this time I've been keeping ideas of what I wanted to put on my blog, and took pictures that have just been sitting on the camera, so I will be blogging backwards in time in the next couple days. Even if you don't read them, I still like to do it because this is such a great way for me to journal for myself. Maybe you agree? Typing is so much easier for me than sitting down and writing with a pen in a little book. I just don't write as much because my hands can't write as fast as my brain thinks, and it gets frustrating. Typing though. Ahhh, typing can be lightning fast, and sometimes faster than my thoughts. Maybe I should print my blog when I get old and pass it down to my grandchildren.

I hope everybody had a good Christmas and New Year. And welcome back to Real Life!

Happy Anniversary!

We celebrated our One Year Anniversary on December 16th, 2007, and for dinner we had Chicken Cordon Bleu. It wasn't too hard to make. Greg did most of the work too.


We also pulled out our wedding cake from the freezer. It was very pretty still, but also very frozen. I really wanted to have a bite, and when I couldn't cut it with the knife, I resorted to my teeth. Haha! Don't worry Mom, I just scraped the frosting off--and I didn't break my tooth.

Our New Tooth Brush!

Mom and Dad got a new electric toothbrush, so they gave us their old sonicare (which is really great by the way.) Greg has never used an electric toothbrush, so it was pretty funny to watch (and listen) to him try it out for the first time. He made the funniest faces and danced around as the toothbrush tickled his mouth with sonic power. Hahhaa!


I love how clean my teeth feel after I use that toothbrush. You know how sometimes you brush your teeth, and they still just don't feel completely smooth? Well this thing really does the trick. It's practically as good as going to the dentist!