Quote Wall Monday

Eat More Chikin

I am trying to be better about cooking real dinners for myself! I found this really awesome cookbook called "Table For One" that has some really great recipes in it. I finally tried one this week!! Citrus chicken!! 

1 piece of chicken {4-6 oz}

Dash of salt and pepper

1 Tbsp orange juice

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp honey

Dash of cloves

Heat grill to medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken for 5-7 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, whisk together the orange juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, honey and cloves. Bring the mixture to a boil and keep at a boil, stirring constantly for 1-3 minutes or until syrupy. 

Apply glaze to finished meat. 

The only problem with this recipe.... I don't have a grill!! So I made the sauce, marinated the piece of chicken over night, and then baked it in the oven! I was kind of nervous about tasting it..... but I was pleasantly surprised!! When I make it again I will probably add a little more lemon juice and a little less honey!! I also think it would be yummy with a dash of nutmeg!! 

Book #15

In a time when the world was young and many things were quite commonplace that are now entirely forgotten, Sarastro, Mage of the Day, wed Pamina, the Queen of the Night. And in this way was the world complete, for light was joined to dark. For all time would they be joined together. Only the ending of the world could tear them apart. In other words, in the days in which my parents married, there was no such thing as divorce.....

Thus begins the tale of Mina, a girl born on the longest night of the darkest month of the year. When her father looked at her, all he saw was what he feared: By birth, by name, by nature, she belonged to the Dark. Do when Mina turned sixteen, her father took her away from shadow and brought her into sunlight. In retaliation, her mother lured a handsome prince into a deadly agreement: If he frees Mina, he can claim her as his bride.

Now, Mina and her prince must endure deadly trials--of love and fate and family--before they can truly live happily ever after.....

Sunlight and Shadow part of a collection of books written by a few different authors called The Happily Ever After series. Each book is a retelling of a classic story and this on is based on the opera The Magic Flute. I'm not a huge opera fan so I didn't know the story to begin with, but after reading the back cover I thought it sounded interesting.
I'm not sure that I really loved this story though.... I only gave it two stars on Good Reads. Each chapter is told from a different persons POV and it can be hard to know who is talking. There were a couple of times I had to go back and reread a few pages once I finally figured out who was actually telling the story at that particular moment. I also kind of felt time there was a lot of lead up to a kind of anti-climactic ending.
The book is short though and was a very easy read! And {spoiler alert} like the series implies.... they all live happily ever after!!

Flash Back Friday

The 4th of July is a conflicting holiday for me! I guess you could say we have a love/hate relationship.

I hate it because of all the stupid fireworks! They are NOT my favorite! And this year was especially crazy! Utah's firework laws changed so that the big aerial fireworks could be shot off from home. Not only that but the 3 days before/3 days after rule went away so people we shooting off those dumb fireworks ALL MONTH LONG!!!

But......

I am a huge history buff so it makes it one of my most favorite holidays! I love celebrating our founding fathers and thinking back on how big of a miracle it truly is that we became a country!! I love singing patriotic songs {God Bless The USA by Lee Greenwood always brings tears to my eyes} and honoring our countries heroes!

This 4th of July was chilly!! And it even rained! I don't think I can even remember the last time we had a cold Independence Day!! With the holiday falling on Sunday our celebrations were spread out over the entire weekend! On Saturday night we went to my Grandma's house in Riverton to spend time with my Mom's side of the family! We had lots and lots of treats and then laid out blankets in her backyard to watch the Riverton firework show.

{Notice all the blankets and jackets.....}

My camera batteries we almost dead that night so it was having a hard time focusing. I tried to take a few pictures of the Riverton firework show, but most of them didn't turn out! I wish the grand finale pictures would have worked. As much as I hate fireworks, that finale was pretty awesome!

We spent Monday celebrating with my Dad's side of the family. We went to see the movie 17 Miracles, which was amazing. I cried... a lot......I wouldn't have survived being a pioneer! I would have told people to leave me next to the bushes and to go on without me! I am SO grateful for them!

After the movie we all went to Mimi's Cafe for dinner!! It was fun having everyone together!

That night everyone came back to our house for delicious homemade ice cream and of course... fireworks

My mom made fantastic vanilla ice cream and we tried a new strawberry recipe! It was SO yummy!! We have made it so many times since them because we loved it so much!!

Everyone stayed pretty late and I think we all wished that we didn't have to go back to work the next day!

My cousin Katie brought her new puppy {Nike} over with her!! We were surprised at how much she didn't seem to mind the fireworks!! She is so stinkin cute and everyone loved playing with her!!

After everyone left, we gave my Dad his Father's Day presents {we were out of town that weekend in St George so we were late on actually celebrating the holiday with him}. It was so dark by then that he had to use a flashlight to see everything!!! Haha!!

A Day At The Lake

On August 8th my entire family {grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins} went to Jordanelle for our annual boating day! It's always so much fun to get together with everyone!! Jordanelle is such a pretty lake, and it's nice that it's not too far from home!! The only thing that could have made it better would have been less rocky beaches!

We had a blast that day playing on the jet skis and getting pulled around on the tubes! My uncle Scott let us use his cool "couch" tube for awhile and we LOVED it!! It is pretty impossible to fall off!!

I don't know if you have way to zoom in on this next picture, but Kaylee's facial expression is pretty funny!!

My Grandpa is such a good sport about coming with us!! He is NOT a water person! But he willing to come out and sit on the boat while the rest of us are being crazy!!

The jet skis we had this year were awesome!! I love going out on them and being wild!! I splashed my mom at one point and I don't think she was very pleased with me!! This is my cousin Kari..... I think mirror on this one accidentally got ripped off at one point {not by Kari though}..... Ooops!!

My uncle Scott recently got a new boat and he brought it out this year!

Sarah, Spencer, Kyle and Scott getting ready to take the "couch" tube out!

Eric and Dallin are always so crazy on the tubes!! Sometimes it freaks me out that they are going to collide, but so far they have made it home alive!! They usually play this game with my Dad..... when one of them falls off, my Dad will pull the tube right up next to them and start counting down from five. Whoever is in the water only has a few seconds to get back on the tube before he pulls away! It's pretty funny to watch sometimes as they scramble to get back on the tube!!

This next picture shows just how crazy the boys can be! I am SO glad I got this one on my camera!

They both flew SO high in the air!! Dallin especially!! This is another great zoom in picture!! Eric's face is hilarious!!

The rest of us just enjoyed relaxing on the boat!

Kaylee even decided to take a nap

If I'd Known Then

It's back to school day for a lot of people!! It has me thinking how grateful I am to be done with that!! I don't miss sitting through seemingly pointless classes, homework, papers, mid-terms and cramming for finals! I don't miss it one bit!
Sometimes I think to myself that I should go back to school and get my Masters.... but I don't have enough motivation!! Or enough money!!

I made a decision a few weeks ago.......

I don't want to do the teaching thing anymore. I don't know if I ever actually wanted to be a teacher in the first place. I have SO much respect for teachers! They are amazing people that work in one of the most important professions for ridiculous pay!! Their day doesn't end when the school bell rings... they spend long hours finishing up their day in their classrooms and often times have to take their work home with them. Yes, they do get the entire summer off, but much of that is spent preparing for the next school year.

I think I majored in teaching because I felt like I didn't really have any other options or their wasn't anything else I wanted to do or was good at. I figured they would always need teachers so it would a good degree to have. Looking back I realize both of those statements are not entirely accurate.
I didn't originally want to be a teacher..... my first major was interior design. Which then switched to family law, then to sign language interpreting before I finally just went with teaching. I wanted to do so many different things but none of them seemed possible...... so teaching it was.
And they wont always need teachers I have come to realize! So many teachers are being laid off and schools are increasing class size so that budgets fit better.

Sometimes I wish I could do it all over again. I honestly feel like I would have skipped out on the college thing {it kind of really sucks paying thousands and thousands of dollars for the next 11 years for something I will never use}. Or that I would have put more thought into what I really wanted to do with my future.
If only there were time machines right?

What would I do if I could do anything?
Oh man! I have so many dream jobs!! The only problem....... none of them are even possible in this great state I live in!!

I have wanted to be an interior designer for so long! When I was in high school I used to buy graph paper and vellum and draw out floor plans and furniture layouts!! I took both of the classes in high school and loved each of them!!

Or being and event planner!! I think it would be such a blast to help people plan their weddings, sweet 16 parties, bat mitzvah, high school reunions, corporate events, family reunions..... You name it... I'd plan it!!

And then there is the book editor thing!! I think this one might be the one I regret the most!! I wish I would have been smarter when I graduated and sat down and thought of a way to incorporate my interests into a career!! Jeez..... where were my counselor on this one?

And my latest dream? To open a dessert cafe!! I'd sell mini pies, lemon bars, cupcakes, tarts, cakes! All things sweet and delicious!! It would be fun to have a cute little house down in Gardner Village where people could come for a treat!!

But I really shouldn't complain! I do have a good job and I enjoy the people I work with! I have great benefits and I never have to work weeks!! I am grateful to my employer for keeping me on the payroll especially when there are so many people struggling to find jobs right now!!!

Distracted

I am so sorry for my lack of posts these last few weeks!! I feel like I have been so distracted and so busy lately. But when I think back on it, I cant really remember why. Okay... I do know part of it..... I have been obsessed with watching this show:

Love it {even though I've thought a serial killer was trying to get me while watering my flowers on one or more occasions}! The only problem is that I get the discs from the library and then I only have a week to watch them all!! So yes, I have been incredibly lazy and have spent many nights doing nothing but watching Criminal Minds!!
And then I would get on my blog and see my "Currently Reading" book and realize that I have been plugging along on the same book for WAY to long, so I stopped watching the show and spent more time reading. But then I'd have to take the DVDs back and put them on hold again... I'd get them back.... stop reading.... start watching...... A never ending cycle!!

I finally got on my computer last night and started going through my pictures and realized there are still some things I need to blog about {Uhhhh, like the 4th of July.......}.
So, there are quite a few blog posts to come, hopefully a new post each day for the rest of the week! Happy Tuesday!!

Quote Wall Monday

Book #14

How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it’s getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she’s haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they’re destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history. As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

I wasn't sure about this book at first. I was worried that I had wasted my money! But, it is the first book in a planned trilogy so I guess some boring set up is to be expected!! In the end I really enjoyed this book! I have always been a fan of Greek mythology and this book was full of it! The beginning wasn't the greatest, but the end is full of all kinds of crazy twists! I just finished reading it last night and I am still not sure who to believe!! I guess that' the way the author wants it though!!
The only problem with this book? It's the first in a trilogy and it was just barley released in May! Dang it!! I don't even know how long I will have to wait for the next one to come out!!

Quote Wall Monday

Quote Wall Monday

Lets Go Ride A Bike

Forget a Vespa!!
Now I want a bicycle!

My best friend Lacey asked me if I wanted to go bike ridding with her yesterday and  I was excited to go. I was also kind of nervous!! I havent been bike ridding in so long and I was worried that I was going to fall off or slow her WAY down!

But it was wonderful!! We went down to the Jordan River Parkway and rode along the trail! The view was pretty being right along the river with all the trees! And I always love hanging out with Lacey!!!

So now I want a shiny new bike!! One of those vintage looking ones.... maybe even with a basket on the front!!

Good Time-Good People

July 24th weekend in Utah is a time to celebrate!! We honor the pioneers that entered the Salt Lake Valley that day so many years ago!! Because I work for a federal institution I wasn't 100% sure I'd get the day off! But, my work was kind enough to close that day and I was able to have an awesome weekend!

FRIDAY:

My friend Emily had some free tickets to the Days of '47 Rodeo so we headed down to the Maverick Center to watch the events! I'm not a huge rodeo fan {I sit and worry if the animals are terrified about whats going on or that a cowboy is going to get speared by a bull.....} but it really was fun!! And I always have a blast hanging out with Emily!

The cowboys did a great job {and nobody got speared}!

The only that could have made it better would have been some Mutton Bustin'! I think that is my most favorite rodeo even!! Oh! And as an added bonus we got free loaves of Sara Lee bread after the show!! Sweet!!

We also went and saw Larry Crowne that night!! Hilarious!!

SATURDAY:

Saturday started bright and early. I considered skipping out on this days fun {because I was so tired} but I decided I didn't want to miss out!

We went up to the Uintah mountains for a day of 4-wheeling with my Uncle Rob and Aunt Terri.

{My sister and I just before starting out on our 6 mile ride}

{My mom even drove one of the 4-wheelers by herself!! Usually she is just the passenger}

Our first ride was really fun and very rocky!! But it was worth it because the views we got to see were amazing! The Uintah mountains are seriously gorgeous!!!

There were pretty little streams every where and lots of flowers and everything was green!!

One of our stops was to a beautiful meadow {I had a few Bambi flashbacks while there}. I am not a huge outdoor person {I know.... That's probably a taboo in this state!!} but I thought it would be awesome to have a cabin on the edge of that meadow and to wake up in the morning and look out at its beauty!!

And then the mosquitoes started swarming like crazy.... and I remembered why I'm not a mountain girl!

After lunch we went on another ride. It was a whole lot smoother and the scenery got even prettier!!

Fields and fields of beautiful wild flowers! The crazy wet winter/spring we had may not have been so pleasant while we were going through it, but I don't think we would have seen so many flowers if we hadn't received all that moisture!!

I think the fields of yellow flowers were my most favorite!!

It was a great day and I'm so glad I went!! I think we ended up riding over 40 miles that day and we even got to see some deer!!

MONDAY:

My mom, my sister, her friend Katie and I decided to head up to Logan to spend the day with some more of our family. All was going well..... until we hit Brigham City.... and then the car broke down!

We were SO lucky though because my dad has a co-worker who lives in BC and he came to our rescue. He was was so nice and so helpful and even let us use his car for the rest of the day!!

{A bonus of breaking down in BC was stopping at the Big O Tires to drop of the car which is right next to the new temple!! So pretty!}

One of the things we did in Logan was watch their parade. A huge thank you to my cousin Kandi and her family for saving us spots, in the shade, since we were running late!! The parade wasn't anything spectacular but it was still fun to get out of the valley and see something different. They did have this really sweet "float" though promoting gymnastics! They had a big trampoline on the back of a big flat bed truck and they had people doing all kinds of crazy flips and tricks!!

The best part of the day though was going to The Bluebird for lunch! I LOVE that place!! If you have never been and you just happen to be passing through Logan, Utah you definitely should stop! Their sweet and sour chicken is delicious!! And they bring you lots of homemade rolls that are so soft and yummy!! Ahhh!! I love that place!! Plus their in a little chocolate counter at the front of the store so you can stop for a treat on the way out!!

{Kaylee, Katie & my Mom}

{My cousin Kandi and her husband Raymond}

{My Aunt Linda and Uncle Greg}

{Me and my cousin Lindsey}

A big thank you to Linda, Greg, Kandi and Raymond for letting us come up and hang out with you!!

After lunch we went to see Lindsey's cute little apartment and then we went for Aggie ice cream!! That stuff if famous! And SO good!! But..... because of the holiday it was closed!! So so disappointed!!!

Monday night I went to Park City with my ward for FHE and had so much fun! We started the night out with a fire and roasted marshmallows and Starbursts!! My friend Emily had suggested a new s'more to me and I finally got a chance to try it out......

Reese's peanut butter cup s'more!! Delicious!!!

We ended up getting rained out, but the family who's house we were at was nice enough to invite us into their home and got out all kinds of games for us to play! I don't want to brag or anything but...... I was the Apples to Apples champ at the end of the night!! Wahoo!!

It was a great weekend and I had so much fun spending time all over the state with so many great people!! I am now officially counting down to the next long holiday weekend in September!