New Church Calling

I forgot to mention that I have a new calling as a Relief Society teacher. I am so excited. It has been a long time since I have been in Relief Society. I guess I am starting to grow up.

Fun in the Snow!

I finally got the Christmas off my blog. Sorry about that. It has been a hectic month. KD and Talon, my niece and nephew are staying with us for a couple of weeks. They are so fun. We made snow angels on Monday, learned the Hokey Pokey on Saturday, Made cookies yesterday, and learned how to help our neighbors for Family Home Evening. They are so cute.


Today we are drawing pictures for their mom. I decided to take some pictures of them, but they just thought it was fun to run away from me while I chased them with the camera. IT'S A NEW GAME! They loved it. Luckily we have gone digital so I can take as many pictures as I want. They love Uncle Kent and I had to go buy a pre school work book so they could study "just like Uncle Kent". The best is when they come get you to show you what is in the toilet and want you to clap! I love it, just not the smell ;)


So after spending almost every weekend sense Thanksgiving up in Salt Lake, it is nice to have a break from the long drive. Kent is studying hard for the Utah bar and working out like mad to meet the requirements for the Marine JAG Corp. He has really bulked up. It is kind of funny - none of his shirts fit. They are all stretched around his biceps and across his chest, but hey... I'm not complaining.

I will be done working for Pepperdine this week. It is hard to believe. I got another job offer for contracted marketing work last week from someone I met at Pepperdine. Just part-time and month-to-month, but what great timing. I think I'm going to go look for a part-time job stocking shelves or something just to bring in some extra cash. Everyone keeps asking me why I want to do something like stock shelves after the work experience I have gotten. Are you kidding? No really, I just want something I don't have to put so much mental effort into and that I don't have to think about after I come home. I am not looking for a permanent or full-time career so why deal with the stress? While I have thoroughly enjoyed working for Pepperdine, and Seagull Book before that and wouldn't trade the experience for anything, it will be so nice to have a less complicated job. Manual labor would feel so great about right now. I know, I sound crazy.

Well, time for me to go wipe noses and think about dinner and more laundry while I enjoy the Berenstain Bears on TV. Hopefully my next update won't take me so long to get around to.

I love Christmas!

Well, after being married for almost seven years we finally bought a Christmas tree! I was so excited that I stayed up until midnight decorating it. i also made a stocking hanger at the Relief Society Super Saturday. Then I made a Christmas lap quilt for the couch. I am not quite done quilting it, but had to take a break because my fingers were killing me!



. Recent updates.... I chopped off all my hair. Here are the before and after pictures. I loved it long, but it is so much easier short. I Got to take some cute pictures of my niece and nephew, Talon and KD. My sister Sammy and her friend Shelby decided to try out the Dr. Seuss' who hair dos - I just had to play along. We had a great thanksgiving. We double dipped and gorged our selves with dinner at my moms house and at Kent's brothers with ALL the family. It was so fun to see everyone and the short drive was great! I am now the judges chair for the Miss Southern Utah pageant upcoming next February. I little different for my personality, but it is fun to do something new. Sorry it took me so long to post - some of you were patiently waiting. I will try to post more frequently for you avid readers.

Costume Dilemma

It seems no matter how clever or creative we try to be, or how much lead time we have, finding Halloween costumes is always a dilemma. We wanted to go as Kriss Kross - the band from the 90's that wore their baseball jersey's and baggy jeans backward but could not find baseball jersey's anywhere! And it is even baseball season! So we walked through multiple stores trying to come up with some idea for the party we went to Friday night and turns out we decided to be Punk Rock. Me being a Puck from the late 90's and Kent being Rock from the 80's. It was fun, but Kent is terrible at holding his lips right for lip stick. It was kind of like putting shoes on a toddler where they curl their toes, arch their feet and point their toe - anything to make it hard on you. Well, I guess it wasn't that bad, just funny. No one even recognized us at first. Well, I don't have much to write now that I have time to blog more frequently. It's kind of weird... It is quite the adjustment - only working part time, but my house is clean and we have a real meal for dinner every night. I just can't wait to get a calling. That will help.
We kind of look like the people from Guitar Hero don't you think?

Late night Halloween treat party with myself...

Yummy Food

Since moving to Utah and reducing my working hours to part time I have enjoyed re-learning how to cook. Here are a couple of my favories new recipes. They have proven to be a big hit with friends and family.

Hot Spinich Artichoke Dip

1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/8 cup mayo
1/8 cup sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1.2 tea. dried basil
1/4 tea. garlic salt
Pepper to taste
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts drained & chopped
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed& drained
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup white onion, diced

Preheat oven to 350

Lightly grease a small baking dish. In a med bowl, mix together all ingredients except spinich, artichokes and half the mozzarella cheese. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinich. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with remainig Mozzarella cheese. Bake for 25 minutes, until bubble and lightly browned. If not browned enough, turn up oven heat to broil for 1 to 2 min. Servie with baguettes, crackers, or tortilla chips.

Ranch and Cheddar Cheese Ball

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 1/2 cups finely grated cheddar cheese
1 Tbs. dried chives
2 Tbs. dried ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Set pecans aside. Mix all other ingredients together until well mixed. Form into a ball or log and roll in chopped pecans. Refridgerate until ready to eat. Great with Wheat thins!

Our new place...

Everyone keeps asking me to post pictures of our new place, so here they are. Here is the front of our house and the front living room/dining area.



Here is the kitchen...

Master Bedroom with the new bed set that Lori Hahn from Pepperdine gave us...

Our master bathroom. Funny story, I bought nice dark yellow rugs and towels to go in this bathroom - playing off the picture on the wall going with a brown and yellow theme; well Kent came home and all he said was, "looks like puke". Needless to say I took them back and went a little more neutral. And even worse, the guy at the customer service desk said as I was exchanging them, "the mustard didn't go over well huh?" I guess I don't have very good taste or something.

Here is the guest bedroom with the quilt I made that didn't match our bed. And the picture on the wall is a place holder for one I am painting to go in that room. The one on the wall now is a joke that got passed around work for like a year. It is a colorful piece to say the least.

And the guest bathroom.

We also have an office, but it is the last room to be unpacked so it looks like a bomb struck it. I will post pictures of it later once I get is unpacked and settled in.