M & M

Where I have been...

2012-01-07T11:22:00.000-08:00

Well, this is the first Saturday I have had absolutely "free" in a looooong time. I've spent a lot of weekends down at my parents lately, mainly because I don't care to be home alone while Mark works. So, it was rather strange this morning waking up late in my own bed to a quiet empty house with absolutely nothing to do all day.

While sitting here I realized I have not posted anything of significance in a loooong time as well. So...I'll start my day off with blogging! Take a deep breath...here's the past little while in review:

Jade's Wedding

Let's start back in November shall we? My cousin Jade got married and we got to spend the night out on the town. Such a pretty bride. I love weddings. And, I LOVE the view from the JSMB, this picture spot never gets old.

LASIK

Early December I got LASIK! It was an early Christmas present and let's just say it was one of the best gifts I've ever received! I wanted to get one last photo of me with my glasses before I went in for surgery...

I traded them in for a new pair of eyes! Pretty amazing right!? I can see like a champ!

First Presidency Christmas Devotional

As tradition would have it, we kicked off the Christmas season by going to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. It's weird to think that that was our first date over 4 years ago! (Note that from this point forward I have not been wearing makeup while I wait for my eyes to heal. Just embrace my natural beauty please).

These fine people joined us. It's always fun going with the group and enjoying the festive spirit that is there.

Montgomery Family Christmas Party
I feel so blessed to have married into such a fun family. Due to the large mass of people, we always have the Christmas Party in a church gymnasium of sorts. As was the case this year. But it definitely worked in our favor when Mark and his 2 brothers surprised us all with a little talent performance....

Who knew we had such talented Italian singers in the family?! Of course, the rest of the night was filled with presents and food...as any good holiday should be.

MoTab Christmas Concert
Yet another tradition, we were lucky enough to get tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert.

It's always good to get together with my family and enjoy a night out. Love them.

Work Christmas Party

I work at an awesome place with awesome people. We had an ugly sweater party, I decided to go full out, turtleneck and all...

Christmas Day!

Christmas was perfect! We spent the weekend down with my parents and we definitely got spoiled! This was the first Christmas Mark had not had to work in like 6 years! I felt so spoiled that I got to spend the ENTIRE holiday with him all to myself and not have to share him with the hospital. Lucky me!

New Years!
New Years I wasn't so lucky, but I still had a great time ringing in the New Year with my family.

Don't worry... I still manged to get my Midnight Kiss via skype...

That's a wrap people. Give yourself a gold star if you made it all the way through this post. And then go do something more productive with your day than me.

Back when...

2011-12-12T19:31:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been feeling lame. Same mundane routine goes on day after day after day. And then I think..."Man, I used to be fun!" Well folks...despite my current lack of excitement... Megan reminded me today how "cool" I really used to be. Don't believe me...go check it out HERE.

P.S. I will say that although my "fun-ness" isn't what it used to be, at least many other things have improved since 2008. Hopefully one of them being my sense of style.

Oh! And Megan...I love this one so I'm stealing it!

The Most Tempting Time of the Year

2011-11-18T18:55:00.001-08:00

Oh Pottery Barn...you know exactly what I like my Christmases to look like. Too bad my wallet doesn't agree. I suppose I could always bring my slippers, a good book and some hot cocoa with my to the store during my lunch breaks...

Halloween

2011-11-01T18:50:00.001-07:00

We had such a great Halloween! Lots of candy, costumes, and fun. We found this awesome Angry Birds head and had to get it to show our nephew Eric. He LOVES Angry Birds. And he LOVED us for giving it to him at the end of the night.
Halloween's a pretty big deal at work too. Everyone had such great costumes. And how do you like my "Operation" costume?

Fear Factory...and a few other treasures

2011-10-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to the Fear Factory with these fine people! Boy oh boy did it have some cool things. Not to give too much away, but the old cement "Factory" itself was pretty cool: glass bottom walkways 13 stories up, moving walls, steel catwalks, underground tunnels, really HUGE slides. It makes me wish a little that I got as scared in such situations as I did as a kid, but it was still way fun to hang out with great friends and see all the elaborate sets. Plus some of the character's costumes were quite extravagant and authentic looking. i.e.....

And don't you just love it when you're going through your camera and find a bunch of treasured pictures you completely forgot about!? So I think I'll share...

Like the the time Mark and I went to the Fruit Stands in Brigham and absolutely loved it. Fresh peaches...YES PLEASE!

And the time we went to the State Fair with Josh and Makenzie...and found these really cool hats.

Or the time my co-worker trashed my car as "pay-back" for my own little office prank. And how I had to drive home like this and have people honk at me even though I've been married for two years.

Tortellini Soup...for you Emma

2011-10-27T12:00:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I saw this recipe on Miss Emma's blog and thought it looked delish! It totally was. And it makes a ton, so who wants leftovers!? Emma, if I didn't live all the way in North Ogden I would totally bring some to the poor little sick woudie that you are.

Here is the quick and simple recipe:

Tomato Tortellini Soup

Ingredients

1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) reduced-sodium condensed tomato soup, undiluted
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups 2% milk
2 cups half-and-half cream
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Additional shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions

Cook tortellini according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine the soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes and seasonings. Heat through, stirring frequently. Drain tortellini; carefully add to soup. Stir in cheese. Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired. Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

(Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home)

Tepanyakis

2011-10-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

Got together with this fun couple this weekend! Tepanyakis is always so fun and delish! Lucky me, Mark was in a particularly rare mood for sushi! It was such a treat to be able to go out with friends and enjoy a good meal!

AND...I got to finally meet their new pup Diesel! Not that I want him for myself, but isn't he pretty adorable? He's like a parrot...just sits there on your shoulder.

...and a little card game with these two is always exciting. Except for how they ALWAYS dominate. So not fair. But I would say that this weekend was a success!

Mac & Cheese...Homestyle

2011-10-19T18:27:00.001-07:00

I came home to a delicious smelling house tonight! Marky cooked! He made the most delicious Homestyle Mac & Cheese, recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart. This is one more dish he can add to his cooking repertoire (which consists of omelets and cereal). Thanks for the delicious dinner babe!

Quilting Kick

2011-10-11T16:08:00.001-07:00

I've been on a bit of a quilting kick lately. Not sure why, all I know is that I am loving it! I'm just about done with this cutie... (baby gift for friend). Yes...my head hurts like crazy from trying to figure it out (amateur).

But despite the headaches I'm pretty sure this one is going to be the next in line... Bring on the challenge!

Eek...

2011-10-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

I once read somewhere that the less you blog the more fulfilling your life is. I'd like to say that's the reasoning for my lack of posts, but lets face it...I just don't have anything exciting to post about.

BUT...TODAY I DO! Guess who just pre-ordered their very own iPhone4S?!

That's right..me! I'm finally trading in my 2007 Blackberry (can you say ghetto!). Can you believe I've had the same phone for over 4 years! It doesn't even know what G's are! Needless to say...it's been time for a upgrade for a looong time. We were holding out for the new "iPhone 5"...but since that isn't happening I'll at least take what I can get.

Ok..ok. So I realize that pre-ordering an iPhone4S isn't really worthy of it's own post. I couldn't agree more. But I was really starting to feel the bug for blogging and this was the best thing I could come up with.

To make it worthwhile for you all...enjoy this video:

I laugh every time! "Blueberries, blue...!"

Dingle Idaho Charm

2011-10-01T21:30:00.001-07:00

Visited the fam up in Dingle, ID for Uncle Buds funeral. The day was lightened when Jessica and I stopped to see the old Ream Mansion that's in the middle of being restored. We've admired it for years in its decrepid state and we're so excited someone finally decided to buy it and restore it's original beauty. Love!

Office Pranks

2011-09-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

What does one do with 4,000 left over business cards?

Tom is going to LOVE us!

Labor Day

2011-09-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day we decided to go up to Silver Lake for a little "bug catching" trip with my brothers and parents. Alex's biology class is working on a bug collection and he had to catch 10 Coleoptera, 6 Diptera, 4 Hymenoptera...whatever in the heck those are. Does any one else recall having to learn all about bugs? I sure don't! (Christine...maybe you can catch me up to speed now?)

These boy were loving it. Digging through dirt. Chasing after dragonflies.

Mark made his mark. No...that was not supposed to be a pun.

The sweet panoramic shot of Silver Lake. Sooo pretty!

After our little stroll around Silver lake we went to the Silver Fork Lodge for lunch. It's takes forever to get your food, but the view is beautiful and the food was pretty darn good, too.

Thanks mom and dad for a fun day at Silver Lake on Labor Day!

Anyway, we had a grand old time. Saw a lot of bug, enjoyed God's playground, and enjoyed that beautiful CRISP mountain air of Fall.

Funny

2011-08-27T11:19:00.001-07:00

It's moments caught on film like this that make me laugh...Hi-larious.

Rain Storms...

2011-08-20T17:55:00.001-07:00

produce lovely rainbows.

2 Years

2011-08-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

These past two years have gone by in the blink of eye, and I can't believe it! I guess we've had our fair share of fun to make it go so quickly. Want to see how we celebrated? Good luck making it through this very long post...

Lets go backwards shall we...mainly because I don't want to rearrange the photos. So, Mark and I took a couple days off to just hang out and have fun to celebrate. Yesterday, we went to Lagoon. My work provided discount tickets so we figured, "Why not? We can finally get that old-time photo we've always wanted." Once in the park we walked straight to Pioneer Village and stood in line for 1-hour to get our photo taken. I'm such a bad-A Saloon girl, and doesn't Mark make one handsome Cowboy!

Of course, Lagoon isn't Lagoon without the rides. Yes...I am one of those "I think I'm gonna throw up" kind of roller-coaster gals. So it's fair to say we hung out by Puff most of the time.

Have you ever stopped to look through all the old shops and museums in Pioneer Village? I always do, and I love them! We managed to break about every single rule though...climbing over fences, climbing on top of "Do Not Climb" objects, touching things that shouldn't be touched. Yea...we're rebels.

As usual...here's our shout-out to Food. After taking one such photo I asked Mark, "Why do we always take photos of our food?" His reply, "Because we love food." Enough said.

So the day before (Tuesday) we were up in Logan because we were spending a few nights up at Anniversary Inn. That day we decided to take the short drive up to Bear Lake and get ourselves a Bear Lake Raspberry Shake. Mmm...La Beaus makes such a tasty raspberry shake. Of course we had to stop and buy some fresh raspberries as well. I love Bear Lake. Such fond memories there and such a beautifully blue lake!

We also stopped by the "mall" because...well, we ran out of things to do in good ol' Logan. Mark took me to one of his favorite stores as a kid, Fun Unlimited, and suddenly turned into a giddy teenager getting excited over original Nintendos and PlayStations. I don't know how a store like that manages to stay in business with all that junk.

Our Hotel room was pretty sweet. We had the Biker Roadhouse...complete with motorcycle, pool table, and pin-ball. Every man's dream. Mark said, "I feel really comfortable here, this could be our bedroom at home!" I quickly nixed that one. Don't worry babe...maybe we'll be rich enough to make you "Man Cave" one day.

And as previously posted...Saturday we took Shane and Jessica for their first skydive. Originally we were just taking Shane for his birthday, but about 15 minutes before the jump Jessica got the bug and wanted to jump too. Next thing you know all 4 of us are jumping out of the plane. For more pictures and Jessica's account of the event see her blog HERE.

So, all in all I'd say some fun was had! I sure do love that crazy hubby of mine. Thanks for a fun filled week!

Great start to a great week...

2011-08-13T19:41:00.001-07:00

More pictures and videos to come later, but boy did we start our 2-year Anniversary out RIGHT! Taking Shane AND Jessica on their first skydive was awesome!

Remember the bubble shirts?

2011-08-07T11:22:00.001-07:00

Apparently they're coming back too. Just wear your platform tennies and you have a perfect 1999 combination.

PLEASE NO!

2011-08-06T15:39:00.001-07:00

they were bad enough in the sixth grade....they're even worse now

Mark's Balloon Jump

2011-08-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

So ever since Mark started skydiving 3 years ago, he's dreamed of jumping out of a Hot Air Balloon. Last weekend...his dream finally came true. Friday night we headed out to Tooele and met up with our Balloon guy. It was such a beautiful evening and everything was going perfect!

The balloon was HUGE! It took foooorever for them to blow the thing up. And just when they were ready to start filling it up with hot air...the winds shifted. Boooo! The whole entire balloon started twisting and getting tangled. Needless to say, we had to call it a night. Mark was very bummed.

So...Saturday we drove back out to Tooele for attempt number 2. This time....Success! The ballo0n was up and they were ready to take off in no time. The balloon looked absolutely beautiful in the perfect evening sky. So fun!

Slowly the balloon got smaller and smaller. And then, tiny little dots started falling through the sky! They jumped at about 4,000 feet. Meaning they only had about 15 seconds of free fall (versus your typical minute in a plane jump), and then they pulled their chutes. That...is always such a relief. One of the balloon jumpers actually had to cut away from his chute because it got tangled, so he landed with is emergency chute. Scary!

And there he is...happy as a clown! So glad he had such a fun time. Love him and that crazy sense of adventure. Oh...and thanks to the Jennie, Daren, and Tate for coming out to watch. Tate sure loved that balloon!

My afternoon entertainment...

2011-08-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

Bees Game

2011-07-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

Over the 24th of July weekend we got to go to the Bee's Game with my family. We had such great time! I'll be honest, I didn't spend much time actually "watching" the game. But I'm also being honest when I say I love being in the atmosphere of a baseball park! Nothing's better than spending your free time the old American way. Not to mention the hot dogs, popcorn, and snow cones! Yum!

We had great seats! Forth row right behind 3rd base. Felt like we were right in the action! Mark was loving it. Not to mention that it was pretty good view for their awesome firework show afterward. Oh, how I love me some firework!

Kitchen Makeover

2011-07-20T22:36:00.001-07:00

Before:

After:

Wow, I've been anxiously awaiting the day I could write this post! I'm super excited about my "new" kitchen cabinets. Let's start from the beginning shall we?...

So Mark and I are moving into Mark's parents house while they are away for a year and half on their mission (yay free rent!). Needless to say, I'm a project person....so before we moved in I wanted to do a little facelift in the kitchen. I really didn't have the slightest clue what I was doing or how I was going to do it. Thank goodness for relatives who know a thing or two about kitchen cabinets.

Sweet Shane and Jessica came up one Saturday and helped me get started. Shane, being the made craftsman that he is, added the trim onto the doors for me. Then they helped me paint all of the cabinets and I finished it off by giving them a bit of a distressed look.

It took up the whole day, but we got it done! The next step to sprucing them up was to add the hardware. I don't know how they ever lived without hardware! For me, this is what really made the difference. (p.s. why is hardware so dang expensive! It's only metal!)

Anyway, I'm really quite pleased with my little weekend project. It's taken me forever to get pictures because let's just say the house hasn't been very orderly while we've been moving.

P.S. Thank goodness I found THIS awesome "kitchen transformation in a box" kit. Made it so easy! Now I just need to paint the walls a new color?

De-Home-ifying

2011-07-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

I got kind of sad tonight as I de-home-ified our "first place." Taking down all our pictures and decor. Our little apartment is starting to look so drab. Oh how I'll miss you. But...off to other things. Here's to change!

Dallin's Skydive, Widowmaker, and BOLC (Mark's very long 'Guest Post')

2011-07-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

DALLIN's FIRST SKYDIVE

Three years ago I convinced one of my brothers, Scott, to jump out of an airplane with me. At the time his oldest son, my nephew Dallin, was only 15. Apparently he had been anxiously awaiting his 18th birthday so he could experience the same thrill. So as part of his High School graduation present his parents bought his first ever skydive. I was especially happy because it gave me the excuse to "get back in the saddle" (as skydivers say) since I had been absent from the sport for 2 years due to higher priorities (aka bills).

Just the before, during, and after photos of the event. Unlike his father, Dallin did not have to be physically pried from the plane door upon exiting. He had the time of his life (like everyone does) and would probably jump again if he wasn't saving for his first year of college and his mission etc.

THE WIDOWMAKER

A few weeks later came our next adventure together. The annual Widowmaker Hillclimb held in Croyden, UT (which is basically just a cement plant off I-84 halfway between Morgan and Hennifer). I have been a spectator a number of times, but thanks to National Guard duties I had never been able to compete, so I was quite pumped to finally attempt to conquer the hill.

I should note that we aren't members of the Professional Hillclimbing Association so we don't get to climb the same hill as the pro's do. They have a side hill for us "amateurs." But it's still a formidable climb. They divide riders into different classes depending on age and size of motorcycle. My bike is a Honda CR250 so I was in the 161cc - 250cc class. There were 18 other riders that I competed against. But really all I cared about was conquering the hill. Which we all did (Scott had before but it was mine and Dallin's first time making it all the way up).

Scott's and Dallin's classes went before mine. Scottie made it look easy and took 2nd place in his class of "40 and over." For this accomplishment he now has a sweet trophy on his mantle. The middle picture with Scott and Dallin shows the professional hillclimb and the bottom picture shows Scott at the bottom of the amateur hill.

This is me at the bottom of my fist run. If you look real closely at the bottom left hand picture you can see me reaching the top.

Here are two views of my second attempt at the hill, which was my first attempt at the "Advanced" amateur hill (very long story). One is taken by Scottie at the start and the other is taken from a Helmet Cam on my head. If you're asking yourself why I don't have video of my victorious climb it's because we took the still photos of the first climb. You'll see that I make it past the technical part and then just at the top of the third step my front tire tweeks the wrong way and when I landed I lost all my momentum. I was so pissed. But at least I didn't crash. This climb was my "official" climb. I made it 219 feet up the 500 foot hill which was good enough for 8th place. The winner of my class conquered the hill in 12.650 seconds. He was from Billings, Montana which is where most of the pro's come out of. He made the rest of us look like fools! (He was riding a Honda CR 250 as well though which gives me hope for next year :-)

BOLC
(Basic Officer Leadership Course)

At the end of April I attended a mandatory Army class known as Basic Officer Leadership Course. Lucky for me, being in the Army Medical Department, this class was only 5 weeks long. As opposed to say my brother who flies helicopters for the Army who was gone for two and a half years, or my brother-in-law who shoots tanks for the Army and was gone for 6 months.

Anywho, my training was in San Antonio, Texas at Fort Sam Houston. I was semi excited to go because it is the same Fort where I trained as a Combat Medic back in 2005 so I was looking forward to revisiting a place of such personal pain and anguish (as a new enlisted soldier) and not being confined as I was then. I decided to drive myself to Texas because some of my fellow Weber State Army ROTC Nurses who had gone to the class before me informed me that if I didn't have my own vehicle I would be stuck in my quarters the whole time.

The drive down was 23 hrs and took me through most of New Mexico and West Texas (not the most scenic view). Above are pictures of an Indian Casino (which I somehow didn't know existed in that part of the country) and "Montgomery Street" in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I drove all through the night hours so the picture of the sunrise was my first view of west Texas in the light.

Sleep deprivation did finally get the best of me 16 hrs into the drive so I pulled over at a rest stop in Texas and slept for a couple of hours. I was actually making much better time than I expected so I decided to take a slight detour and pass through Austin to visit an old friend from my childhood days Chris Call. Chris is a big Rock Crawler enthusiast so I was happy to finally see his modified Jeep Grand Cherokee and have some fun in it. He took me to a local hole in the wall for some authentic Tex-Mex and then showed me around downtown Austin.

BOLC itself was kinda miserable. Only because I wasn't brand new to the Army like 90% of my classmates. The class was for all Army Medical personnel so I was with Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists, Radiologists, Medical Admin, etc. Like the course says it's "Basic" so nothing we did was terribly difficult. It just sucked cause it was hot, we were sleeping in Army tents, eating Army food, and I was doing things that I had already had to pass off not only in Basic Training 6 years ago but all through ROTC in college. The pictures above are of my enlisted barracks, and our day at the M-16 range where I was quite proud of my grouping and zeroing. The thing that made BOLC not suck was that I was fortunate enough to be placed into the same squad as Ben Stone who I've known all through ROTC and Nursing School (pictured in the upper right). Very fortunate indeed because our class had 460 students divided into 6 platoons with each platoon having 4 squads. So the odds of us training together were slim. Having Ben around to joke with and relate to the misery was good times.

Very MUCH to my dismay we were forced to participate in the Gas Chamber. Making this the 4th time I've had to do it. Each time I've had to do it I've thought for sure they wouldn't make us do it again, but obviously I was wrong. The gas chamber is a "Confidence Course." Which means they make us place our gas masks on, walk into a chamber of CS Gas and do exercises etc for 5-10 min thus giving us "Confidence" that our gas masks really do work. Then they line you up in front of the door and have you remove your gas mask. They tell you to say your name, rank, SSN, hometown, military occupational specialty, etc but no body gets past two words because the moment you take off the gas mask your skin starts to burn and every mucous membrane you have plugs up and and you can't breath and you start to dry heave at which point they finally let go of you and you run out the door in pure misery for 10 min waiting for the effects to wear off.

After getting the "Basic Soldiering Skills" out of the way we actually got to do some fun training. Apparently since the war started in 2002 quite a few deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan have been due to vehicle rollovers. So we got to spend a few hours in a high tech simulator, which is basically a rollercoaster ride that is the body of an UpArmored Humvee (HMMWV which stand for High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) that spins around and around simulating a rollerover and then we have to try and get out in whatever position it "lands" in. After that we played a giant video game to simulate convoy operations. I talked my squad into letting me man the 50 cal so it was good times. Then being Army Medical personnel we got to practice loading and unloading patients from a MedEvac helicopter. Finally we had a "test" to pass off all the basic skills we had learned the previous two weeks.

I actually can't complain much about our final week in the field because it was completely geared around the Army Medical Department. We got to see, train, and practice our actual Army Jobs in all levels of care offered. Starting with the front line, then the forward aide station, then the Battalion aide station, then the combat support hospital. Each of us had plenty of turns being "patients" for the many different scenarios and training exercises so there was plenty of breaks between the hard labor in the Texas sun. It was nice to finally see what I will be doing when I am deployed (if I get lucky enough to be deployed as a Nurse that is).

What's worse?

2011-07-15T11:41:00.001-07:00

Driving down the freeway on a motorcyle with ONE hand and NO helmet
OR
That terrible leather gurtle strapped around that nasty long ponytail?

Then again, maybe it's that I was driving the freeway, one handed, while trying to take a picture of the guy next to me???

Arms

2011-07-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

I'm obsessed with this song right now. I'm usually not a "repeat" kind of gal...but this one just keeps getting better every time I hear it.

I'm sure it will keep me entertained on my long drive down to St. George this weekend!

Zeppes

2011-06-28T20:47:00.001-07:00

Oh Zeppes...you turned my day right back around!

Miss USA

2011-06-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

OK...so I know I make fun of beauty pageants a lot, but when it's this cliche of a crowning moment can you blame me?

Secretly though, I'm jealous of all the beautiful gowns they get to wear. Like Miss California (or do I now say Miss USA), her dress was my FAVORITE! Doesn't she look just like the little mermaid! She makes me want to dye my hair red... and then lose 20 pounds. Oh well...at least I have my tasty cookie dough to munch on (see below).

New York Time Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-06-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

Oooh my goodness...i've only tasted the dough so far on these delicious looking cookies, but I already know they are going to be the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever made. The only thing I'm hating about them is that right now the dough the sitting in my fridge for the "24-hour refrigeration period." Dangit, I'm tempted to just cook them anyway, but I guess I'll follow the rules and pray that they really are fantastic.

I found the recipe on My Baking Addiction, my favorite baking blog. Always so many yummy treats, and always full of good baking tips. I hope you are all enjoying this rainy day as much as I am...baking away!

p.s. We saw X-Men: First Class this weekend and it was AWESOME! Call me a nerd but I have always been a fan of the X-men stories. Mark said he would be Mystique if he could choose, because she can be whoever she wants. I think I would be Xavier, how cool would it be to manipulate people's thoughts? Anyway...I highly recommend it!

Tea Time

2011-06-12T11:47:00.001-07:00

My dear little neighbor Lizzie is getting married soon, so last weekend we held a little Bridal Tea Party for her. My mom is the best host in the world and always goes above and beyond. I had so much fun helping her put the whole thing together. And what's a Tea Party without wearing your tea hats! Such a hit. Love. Here are some highlights:

Donations Welcome...

2011-06-11T09:57:00.001-07:00

who wants to donate to the "Michelle's Dream Home" fund? It only costs 1 million...

San Antonio/Moab

2011-05-29T22:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! It was incredibly NICE to sleep-in today and finally catch up on some much needed sleep after a very LONG week of catching up at work after our very EXCITING vacation to San Antonio and Moab. So, now I get to write about all the fun things we did and all the food we ate (because what's a vacation without excess amounts of food?).

So, Mark had been in Texas for a month doing some military officer training (Aka BOLC). I flew down the last weekend for his graduation and to spend some good quality time together (finally!) in the beautiful city of San Antonio!

First thing firsts...we found ourselves some REAL Texas BBQ. Mark was extremely excited to take me to Rudy's because he knew I would love the authentic log burning BBQ pit, and "order by the pound" meats and handfuls of wonder bread. He was right! It was the best BBQ I have EVER had. So good, in fact, we went again the next day.

After dinner we walked around downtown San Antonio, caught up on our "Alamo History", and enjoyed strolling down by the River Walk. I've been there a couple times before and have always loved the River Walk. Your smack dab in the middle of downtown San Antonio, but you feel like your in the cutest quaintest little town full of life.

Sunday we enjoyed some military church and good ol' southern christian radio. We had lunch on the River Walk at Boudros...a fabulous little Bistro with fresh guacamole made right at your table.

Then we headed off to Sea World to hang out with Shamu and other sea loving creatures. Best part about it...military gets in for FREE. Yet somehow we made up for it by buying ourselves lots of treats...like funnel cakes...and dip-in-dots...

Monday was Mark's graduation and we were up at the butt-crack of dawn...because the military doesn't believe in sleeping in. I'm so proud of my little 2Lt. though and all he accomplished! Way to go babe! You're officially an Officer!

After graduation we visited Market Square, which is more a less a mini-Mexico. But...they did have some fabulous Tex-Mex food! Another requirement of our trip that we checked off!

Mark's other requirement....a good STEAK! So, that night we ate at SaltGrass...a steakhouse on the River Walk. Mark got his steak...and I got a giant chocolate brownie Sundae. Sounds about right. We then toured the River Walk on one of the infamous River Boat Cruises.

To finish off Texas right we yet again visited one of the "Man vs Food" hot spots. Lulu's Bakery in San Antonio just so happens to make the largest "Texas Sized" cinnamon roll. Adam has yet to let us down...it was huge...and delicious! We managed to consume maybe 1/5 of it. To bad the rest went to waste.

We then hit the road for Moab. I wish there was something exciting to share about our very long road trip through Texas and New Mexico, but let's face it...there IS NOTHING but flat dessert. After 2 days of driving straight I was ready to have some fun though...and boy did we! We met up with the Montgomery clan and set up camp near Indian Creek, smack dab in the Canyon Lands. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! We could hike right up to old Indian ruins, play in the river and waterfall, and ride our bikes on all the trails and sand hills.

One of the days, some of us took a ride up to the BIG sand-hill, where all the men turn into dare devils and race up the sandy slope. Darrin and Jeff had a nasty little spill, but walked away fine. Lets just say many egos were stroked/crushed that day! But I must say...Mark is extremely sexy decked out in his riding gear and handling his bike like it's nobodies business!

Good times are always had around the fire at night, too. I love how Mark is the "favorite" campfire story-teller for all our nieces and nephews. And he's the favorite fireman...always making the best fires and keeping it going all night long. In other words...he's just my favorite. And I loved watching the little kidos eat smores...completely unaware of how sticky and messy they are.

Saturday was the most beautiful site of all though. This right here:

Everyone geared up, with ATV/Dirt Bike in hand, ready for the Day Ride! Man...I married into one cool family, that's all I can say. This day we rode out to the Colorado River and did some fun riding on the big sand hills. I had so much fun riding and practicing my skills in the soft sand. Sure...there were a few bumps along the way. Like one of the kiddos falling off the back of the 4-wheeler, and a flat tire, Darrin almost getting bitten by a snack, and plenty of crashes on my behalf (but at least I can say I made it up the sand hill!).

Well...there you have it! Our fun filled week of awesomeness! More to come on Mark's BOLC (he wants to do a "Guest Post"). Enjoy the rest of your Memorial Day Weekend in the meantime!

Teaser

2011-05-25T20:50:00.001-07:00

I'm far to behind in life to post about my awesome trip to San Antonio and Moab. So, in the mean time...gaze upon this spectacular photo of my sexy man and imagine how much fun we had!

Cutest cubi on the block...

2011-05-11T16:10:00.000-07:00

I decided to make my cubicle as "homey" as possible. Because lets face it...you're there half your day anyway. Plus, the guy next to me is very...eclectic, shall we say, and kept saying I needed to personalize my space. So...personalization is what I did.

My cubi walls are as solid as rock, so push pins don't work so on them. So I found these practical cork board panels at JoAnn's, but decided to make them cute by covering them with fabric I found for dirt cheap at HomeFabrics (an all time favorite fabric store). And isn't that lamp DARLING...$15 from TJ-Maxx.

So now I feel quite at home while sitting at my little desk. :)

Do blondes really have more fun?

2011-05-06T13:09:00.001-07:00

I guess we'll see...

Sunday Snack

2011-05-01T16:14:00.001-07:00

Yum...ganache filled cupcakes. My own twist on THIS recipe.

Royal Kick

2011-04-30T18:45:00.001-07:00

I didn't watch the "Royal Wedding" at 4 in the morning...but I did get my fair share on E News last night. Despite all the hoopla over the double Balcony Kiss, I got a kick out of this:
Miss Grace van Cutsem really seems to be enjoying herself...

P.S. My curiosity got the best of me when I realized I had no clue what the royal families last name was. Did you know it's Windsor? And did you know that they actually just made that up 2 generations ago. Apparently royals never needed last names, because everyone knew who they were. It wasn't until WWII that confusion sprung and the royals started taking on last names. So...there you have it, a little hierarchy history for you.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T19:15:00.001-07:00

Hope the Easter Bunny left you all some goodies.

Here's a little Easter thought...Incase you were wondering what THE MOST IMPORTANT holiday of the year is...it's Easter. Why? Because without our Saviors atoning sacrifice and his resurrection our lives would be pointless. So...HAPPY EASTER!

Farewell

2011-04-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

Remember how Byron & Catherine got a mission call to Guatemala? Well...there farewell was this past Sunday and what a farewell party it was! As Mark and I were driving to hear them speak in church he said, "My mom will give the most thoughtful and detailed talk that she's probably been working on for two weeks. My did will get up there and shoot from the hip, telling stories that somehow come together to make perfect sense"....couldn't have predicted it better myself. They did great!

Afterward, Otis was ordained a deacon. Check out his studly zoot suit. Lookin' sharp for his big moment!

The food and company was delicious. I'm amazed we can squeeze 30+ bodies in their little house...it's a good thing we don't mind getting close.

I know...I have beautiful sister-in-laws. You don't have to tell me.

Unplanned...Mark and I matched. (I think he subconsciously always picks a tie to match what I'm wearing). He's my handsome man!

And can you not love those cheeks!? Seriously...I could watch her smile all day. Best. Baby Smile. Ever.

Last picture of Mark with mom and dad before he left for Texas the next day for some Army training. We sure do love you Byron & Catherine. Good luck on your mission, you will be missed. Have Fun!

New Job

2011-04-15T09:50:00.001-07:00

Guess who's now working for these guys...

Updating this all day...

And other various tasks in my very own cubicle...

Digital Media Management here I come!

Sunny Days...remember them?

2011-04-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here staring out my window at the slushy snow all over the ground when I realized I never posted about my fabulous day in the SUN with my girlfriends last weekend. How silly of me. So...for my own sake of remembering what it feels like to be outside without a jacket, here it goes...

We don't get together all that often so when we do its always a treat! Especially when it's going to lunch somewhere delicious, like the Blue Plate Diner in SLC. Yumm!

We ate and chatted for a good 3 hours, then finally decided maybe we should give our waiter a break and leave. But...lunch just wasn't enough. We all had the rest of the day to kill so we decided to do some shopping at 9th & 9th. I love their adorable little shops and boutiques there.

Stopping for a little snack at Great Harvest.

Makenzie bought this darling orchid for her new house. So modern, so fresh, so her. Love it.

Good times with the girls...and the sun.

Water for Elephants

2011-04-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

Last night I finished this Book. It was enjoyable.

And now...I can't wait for the movie:

Rube Goldberg Homework

2011-04-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

While my parents are out of town this week I'm staying with my brothers making sure they don't cause any trouble. The perks of housesitting...a huge king size bed all to myself, only 5 minutes to work, and lots of fun with my bros. The downside...helping them with their homework.

Last night, Parker and I spent 5 hours concocting our own version of a Rube Goldberg machine. Seriously? I never had to create a Rube Goldberg machine in my days...and let tell you that it's a lot more complicated than I thought it would be.

The challenge: filling a glass with water in no less that 6 steps and 3 machines must be involved (ie wheel and axel, screw, inclined plane, etc). What are teachers doing to kids these days?

Anyway...after many failed attempts we finally got one put together. Voila!

Sure hope you get an A+ Parker!

Vegas Vid

2011-03-30T17:10:00.001-07:00

Dear Marky,
Upon your request...here's the Vegas Vid you wanted. May you always remember those glorious days in Las Vegas!

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

2011-03-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, let's face it people, I'm really no Betty Crocker. I'm luckily if I can make one home cooked meal a week these days. So, we all know that this blog is not the most savvy cooking blog out there, BUT...if you've ever had Nordstrom's White Chocolate Bread Pudding at their Cafe Bistro then you might want to stick around.

This could quite possible be at the very tippy top of my favorite desserts (along with Melanie's delicious chocolate layer cake, Figgy pudding, the Blondie, and other various baked goods).
It's moist, sweet, tart, cruchy, and creamy all in one. The recipe I found HERE may not be Nordstrom's, but it definitely did not fail my tastebuds! It's a lot of time and preperation (perfect for my Sunday afternoon) but I left a very satisfied woman!

White Chocolate Bread Pudding
5 Tbls. unsalted butter, melted | 4 cups heavy cream | 2 cups milk | 1 cup sugar | 3½ cups (about 1⅓ lbs.) white chocolate morsels | 6 large eggs, plus 12 egg yolks | 1 tsp. vanilla | 1 24-inch loaf day-old French bread, cut into ½ inch thick slices

Raspberry Sauce: ½ cup water | ½ cup sugar | 2 tsp. grated orange zest | 2 cups fresh or unsweetened frozen raspberries

White Chocolate Sauce: ½ cup heavy cream | 1 cup white chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 325°. Brush a 9x13 inch pan with 2 Tbls. melted butter. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, milk, and sugar and heat until just hot. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate morsels, and stir until melted. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla. Whisking constantly, gradually drizzle the warm cream mixture into the eggs, continuing to whisk until smooth and well blended (don’t curdle the eggs!).

Lay half the bread slices in the bottom of prepared pan. Pour half of the cream mixture over the bread and allow to absorb the liquid, about 5 minutes. Layer the remaining bread on top and pour the rest of the cream mixture over it. Press down on the bread, making certain it completely absorbs the liquid. Cover the pan with foil. Bake the pudding for 1 hour. Uncover and continue to bake until the liquid in the center has evaporated and the pudding is golden brown, about 30 minutes longer. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

When the bread pudding has cooled, cover and refrigerate until cold. Invert the pan on a cutting board. Peel off parchment paper and trim the crusty edges around the sides. Cut the bread pudding into six 2-by-3-inch rectangles and then cut each rectangle in half on the angle to form 2 triangles. Wrap and store in the refrigerator.

Make raspberry sauce by combining water, sugar, and orange zest in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until thick and syrupy, about 3 minutes. add the raspberries, reduce heat to low, and cook until fruit begins to fall apart, about 3 minutes. Let cool and then force the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds.

Make the white chocolate sauce by warming cream in a saucepan over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat and stir in morsels. Stir constantly until chocolate is completely melted.

To assemble the dessert, preheat oven to 350°. Butter a rimmed baking dish and place the bread pudding triangles on it, leaving spaces between. Brush triangles with remaining melted butter. Bake until heated through and lightly browned, about 12 minutes. For each serving, pour a serving of white chocolate sauce then raspberry sauce over bread pudding triangle.

Pompous Wall

2011-03-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

Mark and I decided to get our B.S. certificates framed because...well, we're somewhat proud of them. But when we went to pick them up yesterday we couldn't help but laugh at how HUGE they are! And after getting them up on the wall....they look even bigger. So we decided to call this our "Pompous Wall." An entire wall dedicated to our collegiate accomplishments.

I suppose we should have figured they'd be that big...after all we did ask them to include our tassels and cords. But seriously...these frames are more worthy of some doctorate degree.

I will add, however, that Bev's Imports Framing did a fabulous job and gave us exactly what we asked for...if only we knew what we were asking.

VEGAS

2011-03-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

What a fabulous birthday weekend Mark and I had in Vegas. It was a short trip, but I feel like we accomplished so much and packed in as much fun as possible. And...I know you are just DYING to know every single detail with pictures included. I knew you would be...so here you go...you're welcome.

Day 1:
Thursday we woke up super early and drove down to Vegas. Our first stop...Mandalay Bay to buy student tickets to The Lion King! BEST DEAL EVER...they sell tickets for $25 with a student I.D. the day of the show if they have any left over tickets. Anyway, after our tickets were purchased we walked the strip for a bit and acted like tourists. Mark convinced me to ride the New York New York roller coaster (i don't do well with loops...). Despite the slight queasiness afterward, I must admit that it was pretty darn fun.

That night was The Lion King. It was soooo good. I've heard about the show for years now and could not wait! We had great seats and I couldn't believe all the fabulous costumes, puppets, songs, dances, effects, etc. Truly....Disney doesn't do anything half-a**ed. After the show we did some more sight seeing and Mark HAD to stop at Jack In The Box (BLAH!) for a "Monster Taco". P.S. Customer service has completely gone out the window now-a-days....you ordered your meal out a box...A BOX! Don't get me wrong, I love technology...but seriously? We have to order out food from a computer even though there's a worker standing RIGHT THERE!?

Day 2:
So Mark and I are big Discover, Travel, History Channel nerds. One of our favorites is Man vs. Food. When we saw Adam visit the Hash-House A Go Go in Las Vegas one time we knew we had to try it out. The pancakes were the size of my body! Not only were the portion sizes huge, but their breakfast is DE-lectable! I couldn't eat quite as much as Adam...but I will say I was quite impressed with what I scarfed down.

Our next stop...PAWN STARS! Another favorite. I couldn't believe what a hole-in-the-wall this place was. Yet, there was a line going all the way down Las Vegas Blvd just to get in. And it was so worth it, because guess who we saw....CHUM LEE!

Next we went to The Stratosphere. Such a great view of the city from the top...but it's even better when you're being rocketed into the sky. We rode the Big Shot twice...and could have kept going. Thanks to Mark I experienced a whole different side of Las Vegas I've never seen before.

That night we had tickets to go see KA. Before hand we stopped for a quick little dinner at Maggiano's Little Italy where we had the best little Italian dinner and the most beautiful view of the city. KA was everything I heard it would be. The costumes, the acrobats, the AMAZING stage and theater...it was just all over AMAZING. Plus they had sweet military discount tickets as well, which my pocketbook also liked :) Highly recommend both the shows we saw this weekend.

Day 3:
Saturday wasn't too exciting. We drove home. I'll spare you the boring desolate pictures of the desert. But...that night we did meet up with Mark's parents and Melanie for an awesome Birthday Dinner for Mark. By and Cath kill me...neither of them could keep their eyes open for a picture. After several attempts we finally caught a glimpse of Byron's eyeballs.

Day 4:
My Birthday! Can't believe I'm 23. Time sure flies. I had a perfect birthday dinner....home-cooked Steak and Potatoes on a Sunday afternoon cooked my none other than my mother dearest. We opened some gifts and had my fav...carrot cake. It truly was the PERFECT BIRTHDAY WEEKEND!

Off With Her Head!

2011-03-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

If I don't figure out something soon I'm going to do something rational....like cutting off all my hair again. My bangs are too long and driving me crazy...the color is boring...I'm already about 3 months past my usual haircut...and I don't know what do. HELP!

My hair has been a number of things over the past year. Here...let me remind you:

1. Blondie
2. Red Head
3. Boy-short hair
4. Emo swoop bang
5. Crazy overgrown mess
6. Short blunt bang bob
7. Longer version of blunt bang bob
8. Finally something long enough to pin back
9. Current stage of overgrown mess...

Obviously...I've never really settled in with a look. I guess I just get bored with it being the same. Which is why I need a change again. I could keep growing it out...and possibly go insane in the meantime. There's no need for me to ask for opinions...because I never abide by them anyhow. But, since I am desperate, if you have opinions...they're welcome. Maybe I'll listen to them this time...

On another note...tomorrow I will be basking in the glorious sun in Las Vegas. Yahoo! So excited for our mini vacation. And you know what I CAN NOT wait for...

Here's to a GREAT weekend to come!

The Call

2011-03-03T12:16:00.000-08:00

Mark's parents recently turned in papers to serve an LDS mission and the call has been long awaited. On Wednesday we got a call from them saying they just picked up a very important package in the mail! So Mark and I ran over to By & Cath's to watch them open up their call.

Byron was getting a little antsy and Catherine just wasn't opening it fast enough...so he tried to take matters into his own hands.
And the call.....Guatemala City, Guatemala Temple Mission! Look at their excitement...priceless.

After a month and a half of waiting Byron just couldn't hold it in any longer...I've never seen such an enthusiastic fist pump! At one point he was even throwing his glasses into the air!

So excited for their call. They leave in May and will serve for 18 months. We are so happy for them and wish them the best of luck. We sure will miss these two, but also look forward to hopefully going to Guatemala to pick them up in 18 months (that is if Melanie can arrange it?). Perhaps :)

The Roof

2011-02-27T21:40:00.000-08:00

Every year By & Cath get all us Montgomery's together for dinner at The Roof. It's always a swell time...this year was no exception.

Mark didn't want me to post this picture, but I think he looks handsome. Plus...it's the only picture of us two for awhile now...considering we're not together out-and-about all the often. So...take a look at my sexy man and the most beautiful view of the SL Temple.

I failed to document the actual dinner with pictures, but that's because once you get all of us talking there's really no room for camera interruptions.

Oxfords

2011-02-22T19:52:00.001-08:00

If these Jeffrey Campbell Oxford Shoes aren't darling...I don't know what is.

Cupid came late this year...

2011-02-19T17:24:00.000-08:00

But boy was his aim right on! Friday night, after a long crazy day of work, I walked in our house to find this!
Cutie Mark had a Chinese Take-out dinner all ready for me, a dozen red roses, chocolate dipped strawberries, and...our very own Valentine Suite in our very own living room! Haha. Silly boy moved our mattress all the way downstairs. Lets just say my homemade Valentine's Day card to Mark suffered in comparison.

LoVe

2011-02-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a Happy Love Day. Mine consisted of German Pancakes for lunch with the hubs and then an evening to myself of watching hours of The Bachelor and Castle at home. Exciting huh?

No much new going on here, sorry I have nothing exciting for you. In the mean time...Dream with me about living in a place like this:

{Images}

Torn...

2011-02-03T09:21:00.001-08:00

Alright world....my husband was of no opinion...so now it's up to you. I bought these darling gold Nine West flats....

Love them. But I hope made the right decision because I'm torn between the Gold and the Ivory. So close...yet so different.

Did I make the right decision?

Fun...

2011-01-23T21:23:00.000-08:00

My Saturday turned out to be everything I never thought it would be....fun. Want to hear all about it? I know you do...

Once Mark was up and going for the "day" we decided to go see The King's Speech. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! I love movies that have good historical insights and tell of the struggles and courage of brave people. I wouldn't be surprised if this movie gets nominated for many "bests". If you haven't seen it, click on the link, watch the trailer, and buy your tickets! (It is rated R...but what do you expect from a bunch of swearing Brits?)

After the movie I was starving from not eating anything all day but some crackers, so Mark being the gentleman that he is let me pick where we would eat. I saw the flickering sign of Lee's Mongolian BBQ and got the craving to go. Seriously, Lee's is the best hole in the wall in all of Ogden. I used to go ALL the time in college with my friends. But it had been like 2 years and it was time for Mark to see my Mongolian side. (I took a picture on my camera phone but it doesn't do the food justice...soo here one stolen from their website)
After dinner Mark mentioned his throat was really sore (he's had a sore throat for a couple days now...poor little woudie). Ice Cream seemed like a good solution so we stopped at Farr's Icecream and got ourselves a little dessert (even though I was completely stuffed from all my Mongolian goodness).

Can I just stop and take a moment to say that Black Licorice ice cream is THE BEST GOSH DARN ICE CREAM....EVER! Mmm...

So after the delicious ice cream we went home and watched yet another movie. Our title of choice....Food Inc. It seemed appropriate since we had just somehow managed to eat more calories in an hours time than we eat in a whole week. Ever wonder what if would feel like to think like one of those "organic" Nazis? Watch this movie and you'll get just the slightest urge to move far away, start a farm, and raise chickens...

But don't worry...it quickly fades. Shortly after finishing movie #2 for the night Mark once again wanted something cold and smooth for his throat. Where to next? 711 for Slurpees!

Mark loves slurpees. I don't. So I was feeling kind of left out...and then I eyed this...

Mmm....Maple Bar! Now, usually 711's donuts are somewhat stale and lack in selection. But we got there at just the right time! The donuts were piled high and freshly delivered. It was the best maple bar I've ever had...and that's saying a lot comparing it to all those other thousands of maple bars I've consumed. What the heck...it was 11:30 at night and I had already demolished any bit of self control...why not finish it off with a bang?

So, moral of the story...boring days can turn out fun after all.

What did you do? I bet you didn't eat as much I did...

Boredom...

2011-01-22T13:48:00.000-08:00

I'm bored...when I shouldn't be. This morning I was suppose to go have fun at my cousins baby shower. It started at 11. I was going to drive down to Murray to meet up with my mom at 10 and then drive with her down to Provo. So...at 9:20 I got out of bed. Slowly get myself a bowl a cereal and took my sweet time getting ready for the day. (Yes...you're probably better at Math than me and have realized I woke up really late) So at 10:20 I get a call and everyone is wondering where in the heck I am because they're going to be late. "Late!?" I exclaimed, "But it doesn't even start for another hour and a half." Yes...this is when I finally realized that I was a whole hour behind schedule. What in the world was I thinking? FREAK OF NATURE!

So, now, here I am stuck at home, bored out of my mind, with nothing to do on a beautiful Saturday. I have to be quiet because Mark's in bed sleeping on his "night schedule." I don't have anywhere I can go, no one I can visit, and I've already watched all the worth-while movies on Netflix. Speaking of...the other night I made Mark watch "The Holiday" with me. You know the part where Cameron Diaz goes out of mind from being soo bored? Here...let me remind you....

Well...that is me to the tee at this moment (Except for the whole singing thing...because I have to be quiet. Remember?).

So now that I've checked my facebook a thousand times, watched as many YouTube videos as I can take, and successfully posted about it on my blog....I'm once again bored. Maybe I'll go scavenge out some cooking blogs and make some delicious treat that I really don't need....

Cheerio.

Cocktail Hats...

2011-01-11T09:53:00.000-08:00

Who's with me?

The Epic Snow Day

2010-12-30T20:29:00.001-08:00

24" of Fresh Fluffy Snow! My day couldn't have been any better. Mark and I were planning on going skiing all week, but when we woke up early and saw the snow reports blood started pumping through our veins! Powder Mountain...here we come!

I wish I could better describe how "Epic" the snow really was. When we got there the lifts weren't open yet and we were among the large crowd of people just waiting at the top of the hill, starring at the huge range of never been touched snow, standing in powder up to our knees, our hearts racing, our knees shaking with anticipation. Then....the mad dash down the mountain to the lift began! It was like sailing through a whimsical winter wonderland. Oh...so perfect!

The first few runs on each lift were the best. Since we were always part of the leading pack we got first dibs down each run. Cutting through powder has never been so exhilarating. But it didn't last forever. After a few hours the freshly fallen snow became packed and trailed on. Still made for great boarding, but we were spoiled and wanted the mountain to ourselves again. This might quite possibly go down in history as the best ski day ever!

Some other highlights, we had a nice greasy lunch at the lodge and warmed up a bit. Although it made for great snow, it was absolutely FREEZING on the mountain. Good thing we bundled up!

Mmm...Cheese-fries!

Ski Nerd.

Mark has always thought that the view up Ogden Canyon looks like The Chronicles of Narnia. After seeing it like this today I couldn't agree more. Beautiful!

Frozen Waterfall...some of God's finest art.

We Won't Go Until We Get Some...

2010-12-26T09:26:00.000-08:00

So bring it RIGHT HERE!

What would Christmas be without Figgy Pudding? I dare say, mine wouldn't be nearly as TASTY. YOU MUST TRY THIS! Every Christmas my mom makes our rendition of "Figgy Pudding"...also called "Sticky Toffee Pudding" and it is to die for. The caramel sauce is the best...I could pour it over anything. I made it this year for my work Christmas party and everyone loved it. Here's the recipe:

"Figgy Pudding" (Sticky Toffee Pudding)

Pudding Cake:
-2 1/2 cups water
-1 3/4 cups chopped dates (or chopped figs if in season)
-2 tsp. baking soda
-1 stick butter
-1 1/3 cups sugar
-4 eggs
-3 cups flour
-2 tsp. baking soda

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bring water to a boil in large saucepan. Add chopped dates and boil for 1 min. Once boiled, add 2 tsp. soda (careful, the dates foam up quickly). Set date mix aside and let cool.

In other bowl, mix butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in 4 eggs, 1 at a time. Pour in cooled date mix (including the water) and stir together. Slowly mix in 3 cups flour and remaining 2 tsp. soda until well combined.

Grease a 9X13 glass dish, pour in mix and bake in a water bath (set glass dish in larger dish filled with water just enough cover outsides of glass dish). Loosely cover pans with tin foil so moisture stays inside. Back for 50-55 minutes, removing the tin foil once the cake starts to rise (about half way through).

Caramel Sauce:
-1 1/2 cups brown sugar
-1 3/4 sticks butter
-1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions: Bring to boil over medium heat, simmer on low for 4-5 minutes. Do not overcook!

ENJOY!

Merry Christmas To All

2010-12-24T11:36:00.000-08:00

I hope you all enjoy your Christmas days. I know I sure have been. Dinner with my besties was the best. So fun to see good friends and catch up.

I can't wait for Santa to come tonight and to spend some time with my family! Tonight we have a Christmas Eve Feast at my aunts. Tomorrow we'll have a Christmas Brunch Feast. In other words...I'll be eating a LOT within the next 24 hours. Yum!

Here's our Christmas Greeting to you all...

Mo-tab, David, Pizza and Netflix...Yup

2010-12-18T21:55:00.000-08:00

I think I'll pull out my "Vote for David Archuleta" t-shirt again and wear it, because that boy is one beautiful singer! Especially when accompanied by the fab-dab Mo-Tab choir. Woo-wee! We had such a great time at the concert, and we owe a big thanks to Steve and Mel for letting us use 2 of their 4 tickets (and thanks to Marky for entering their address into the drawing). But seriously...David. I love me some David!

Prior to the concert we out to dinner to Settabello Pizzaria Napoletana! Not many pizza parlors get the seal of approval from the Vera Pizza Napoletana (VPN)...some sort of honorary pizza club...or something, but Settabello sure does. I've never been to Italy, but boy I sure felt like I was eating real Italian pizza. SIDENOTE: Notice how all of our plates are entirely cleaned off.

And on a completely different subject...Mark and I got Netflix. Now instead of wasting my time watching stupid TV shows on bunny-ears, I get to waste my time watching whatever I want on the web. It's fabulous. So far we've become addicted to Dexter...oh boy is it enticing. If you don't have Netflix, well....HERE, get it.

Hill Family Christmas Card

2010-12-15T22:37:00.001-08:00

Okay people...the 50 free Christmas Cards deal from Shutterfly totally worked. I wish I would've been more patient because I got hasty this morning and ended up making my own Christmas Cards. Soo...when I finally received the promotional code in my e-mail tonight I decided to help my mom with her Christmas Cards instead. We made this fun one up of the whole family.

With Love Chartreuse Christmas Card

Turn your pictures into personalized Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Precious. And we totally got the 50 free plus we ordered an additional 25 at a discount. And guess what...just for sharing my final project with you, I'll be receiving a $25 credit to Shutterfly to use however I wish. I know...awesome.

So...now we just have to pray that they get here in time to send them out before Christmas. Cross your fingers people.

Christmas Cards

2010-12-13T14:53:00.000-08:00

I got my first Christmas Card in the mail this week. It's already taped up on our back door and I hope the space fills up quick with lovely little Christmas Greetings! But...it also made me realize how terribly behind I already am on our Christmas Cards. I don't even know what I am going to do! Then...I remembered a post from Christine's Blog about getting 50 FREE Christmas cards from Shutterfly. So...I went and looked and decided that's exactly what I'll do too. They are all so darling but I fell in love with all the Blue cards (surprise?). Like this one:

So, now I need to find some good pictures of Mark and I and I'll have my Christmas cards ready to mail out in no time!

So I couldn't help but browse around the rest of Shutterflys site and look at all the darling things they have. I can't spoil my surprises, but I will say that I might just be using their cool canvas prints for a gift this year.

It's getting down to the wire here...but if you want 50 Free Christmas Cards click on this link. You have until Wednesday, so hurry up!

Introducing...

2010-12-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

2LT Mark D. Montgomery

AND....

BSN Holder!

Way to go Babe! You did it! Let me tell you all how very proud I am of this handsome devil. It was a tough semester of full-time work, full-time school, and part-time Army. But, he managed to come out with flying colors, Honors, his BSN, and commissioning as an officer for the Utah Army National Guard. Now I'd say that's quite an achievement!

Here are some highlights from his exciting day:

Wildcats for Life!

Swearing In & Getting Pinned

And thanks to all the love and support from these fine people. We sure do love you and were so glad you came!

And So Begins Year 3

2010-12-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

Well...tradition continues for us Montgomery's. In remembrance of our first date 2 years ago, we went to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. They always have such a wonderful message to share this time of year. It's always nice to get a little reminder of what Christmas is really about.

DeMill Blog Makeover

2010-12-01T18:26:00.000-08:00

I was bored and asked my darling sister if I could redesign her blog for her. She submitted to my will. Go check out her NEW blog here! Turned out pretty cute if I may say so myself. Now what can I do with mine...

Christmas Tree. Check!

2010-11-28T20:00:00.001-08:00

We are ready for the Holidays! We have the snow, the cold, the music, and now...the tree. I just love love love putting up my tree. Mark was glad he had work and got out of helping this year, but more for me! Now all we need is for Santa to come put a few presents underneath (...funny how much you wish Santa really was real...).

Do you have a favorite ornament on your tree? I must say, I love all my ornaments, but there a few beauties that just tickle my fancy. Them being...
Oooh I just want to eat that little peppermint, it's so tiny. Anyway, hope you all are enjoying this time of year as much as I am. Now go get yourself a hot cup and chocolate and sing a Christmas tune or two.

Pie Overload

2010-11-27T15:45:00.001-08:00

Yup...Go ahead and count 'em. That's 16 pies we had for our Thanksgiving feast. And with 31 people that meant there was enough for each of us to have HALF of a pie to ourselves! Wish I could say I managed to do so...but there was plenty left over! Not to mention the massive amounts of all the other food leftover (leftover turkey sandwiches here I come!).
Oh man, we had such a great Thanksgiving. I could write out a boring list of all the things I am thankful for, but lets face it, I AM THANKFUL FOR FOOD! And isn't that was Thanksgiving is REALLY all about?

Now...off to put up my Christmas Tree! Yipee!

Christmas Subway Art

2010-11-22T13:36:00.001-08:00

My tree will be going up this weekend and I can't wait! You know what else will be going up...

Isn't this Holiday Subway Art darling?! And you can't get much cheaper than printing your own art...

Thanksgiving Cake

2010-11-17T09:44:00.001-08:00

(Turkey Cake Recipe HERE)

My friend Kelsey posted this link and Fbook (probably as a joke), but I had to share. How ingenious is this!? I think I know what I'm making for our feast this year...

At first glance it looks disgusting. Then you take a second look and start to realize what it actually is. Once you figure it out...genius! I don't know about you, but my Thanksgiving dinner plate always ends up looking like this anyway. By the time I manage to get ALL the food on my plate it just turns into one big pile that mind as well be this.

Simple

2010-11-15T16:17:00.000-08:00

Alright...since I seem to have freaked everyone out a bit about the whole holey heart thing...I found this video that shows how SIMPLE the whole surgery thing really it.

See...wasn't that easy? Truly, the whole thing absolutely blows my mind...thank goodness for modern medicine. They'll be able to do this all through one tiny little incision on my leg.

Looks like I won't be getting it done until January though. Which is fine by me considering I'm in absolutely no pain and can function just fine without it. So why get it done it all if I can function without it, you ask? Turns out if I don't get it fixed my risk of stroke pretty much triples. And since I don't care for THAT...I figured the sooner the better. Plus, the hole is supposedly causing my migraines and physical activity exhaustion. So...can't wait for that to get better either, too!

Finally, to answer your questions...Yes! I am fine. Thank you for caring. :)

Basement Remodel

2010-11-13T12:43:00.001-08:00

So while my dad was out of town on a golf trip this week my mother spontaneously decided to remodel her basement to surprise him when he get back. All I can say is I'm not entirely sure how they manage to build a whole house in a week on TV! We had only minutes to spare to do just a basement. Anyway...I had such a great time throwing around ideas and designing the rooms with my mom.

Before:

Needless to say...the basement was sort of a furniture graveyard. Anything that didn't have a place in the rest of the house managed to make its way down here. Nothing really matched and it was all a big unorganized.

After:

Isn't it so darling!? It has such a clean fresh look to it now. And it looks so much brighter now without all that dark furniture.I realize it's hard to tell in the photos...but we changed the wall color (which is where most of the work took place).

We're totally bringing wallpaper back! And the new TV is pretty awesome...wish it was mine. I think this was my dads favorite part.

Love our fun choice of fabrics. Such character and color. (p.s. In need of an upholsterer? Rico's Upholstery in South Jordan is bomb diggity. He recovered the ottomans and chair cushions).

So we also redid my brothers bedroom, the bathroom, and the game room...but I failed to get pictures. They may come later.

Broken Heart

2010-11-12T15:00:00.001-08:00

PDA or PFO

To anyone and everyone who ever made fun of me for my heavy breathing while exercising...HA! Turns out I'm not as out of shape as you thought...I just got a big fat hole in my heart!

Update: I should note that my holey heart is no big deal. Please do not fret. I'm simply fascinated by how the human body functions. One simple surgery and I'll be running like a steam engine.

On a lighter note...stay tuned to see the basement remodel my mother are in the midst of completing...It's going to be FABULOUS!

Remember, Remember the 5th of November

2010-11-05T18:05:00.000-07:00

Here's to V for Vendetta. But more importantly...Here's to Luke and Suz and their new little guy who was born today. Congrats!

As Mark and I were discussing their exciting news Mark said to me, "If we have a kid born on the 5th of November I will let you name it 'Vee'." I got so excited because I have this strange attraction to the name "Vee" and think it would be such a sweet middle name. Mark think it's retarded because why would you name your kid after a letter in the alphabet? So...somehow (in the far future) I need to plan things appropriately...

All Hallows Eve

2010-11-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

I suppose I can now unveil our Halloween costumes since all festivities are done and over with. Are you ready? Drum roll please.......

The Dread Pirate Roberts & Princess Buttercup

Alright...so what if we look like Zorro and a member of the Tabernacle Choir. For a last minute homemade costume I'll take whatever I can get! Mark's costume looked pretty awesome on him. I may be a little impressed with my sewing skills on that one...even if my dress did end up looking like graduation robes...so what.

We had such a great Friday night with our friends. Look at all these fabulous people in the fierce costumes:
It's quite a change up from our usual Zombie attire (see here, and here). Everyone looked great though, and we had such a fun time playing games and catching up. FYI...Mark and I took second place in "The Newlywed Game"...PROPS!

AND....I just love these girls

On Halloween we went to my Grandma's annual Halloween Party. As usual...we stuffed ourselves silly with delicious treats and goodies. The chil'ens showed off their costumes (and some of the adults too) and we laughed at each other as we attempted to pick up a paper bag with our teeth while standing on one foot...
Notice how the bag gets progressively smaller as you go. Lets just say it's not as easy at looks. Shane won with extreme grace while the rest of us face planted into the ground. It was pretty funny.
And how about a little "Hat" musical chairs? Yes...my family is easily entertained.

Sad to say we never got around to carving any pumpkins or treat-or-treating, but our Halloween was still a success!

Dear Family & Friends,

2010-10-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

Galoshes...such a funny word

2010-10-26T16:43:00.001-07:00

Rainy days always get me down...but not when I have these bad boys!

Do you have your Halloween costumes picked out yet? Mark and I stopped by every Halloween Costume store in town looking for our "perfect" costumes. Turns out it's always much cheaper (wish I could say easier too) to just stop at good old JoAnn's for a little "Do It Yourself" project.

Curious as to what we will be? Here's a clue...
(and no, it's not Batman and Barbie)

Dear Old Navy...

2010-10-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

I've never cared for you much. Your ugly fleece vests have kept me away, but today you showed a sign for some hope after all. Thank you for having these sweaters one sale for $10:

Should you decide to put this guy on sale, too...I may just come back!

Guilty Pleasure...

2010-10-18T21:27:00.001-07:00

I secretly sneak a handful of these for my daily sugar fix.

Productivity?

2010-10-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

Although I consider starting the dishwasher and moving clothes from one machine to the other hard work...I still feel as if I have wasted the day. Sure, I made a loaf of pumpkin bread...just to turn around and eat it while sitting on my lazy A. YUM!

So what have I been doing all day? Well...you're looking at it. I started out my day blog stalking (surprise) and decided there were far to many cute blogs out there. I'm not talking about those "cutestblogontheblock" cookie cutter ones (please don't hate me for publicly stating my dislike for them). I'm talking about those cute blogs you see and automatically know whose they are because they match their personality to a tee. So I spent the majority (yes....majority) of my day trying to figure out HTML and CSS and whatever other stupid languages computers speak. And let me tell you...it is not easy. I failed magnificently over and over again.

But...I think I've got it to a good first ending point. I wanted my blog to be simple and clean...and I think I've achieved that. There is still A LOT I would like to figure out and do...but lets face it, it took me all day just to figure this much out.

So...here's to Productivity?

The Bluebird

2010-10-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today Mark and I took a short little road trip up to Logan. Mark had to meet up with up his nephew J.J. to get some things fixed on his laptop. Now...neither of us are really all that fond of Logan. I know, I know...all you Aggies are probably freaking out right now, but calm down.

Mark went to USU once upon a time...but lets just say he was more of a "Laggie" than an Aggie. As for me, my only memories of Logan are stopping at "The Bluebird" for lunch during my travels up to Bear Lake. So as tradition would have it, that's exactly what we did while we were there.

I don't know if it's so much the food I love, or just the pure nostalgia and quaint atmosphere of the restaurant. The old fashioned soda bar is totally cute, and their chocolate display is a treat to the eye.

This was probably the funniest moment of the whole day-trip. Yes, I frequently drive down the freeway with my van door open and my leg sticking out. Seriously? I guess his feet needed some air...

And I must say...Mark fit right back in to "living the glory days" like he used to. Oh to be young and carefree in college again...

All in all, it was a fun little trip up to Aggie land. Mark said "This was probably the first positive memory I have had of Logan since 1999."

This weather calls for...

2010-10-08T16:15:00.000-07:00

Chicken Tortilla Soup.

(I added some lime juice and chicken broth to make this recipe even more delish)

Mmm...Nothing to warm you up better than some hot soup! I have been freezing ALL day! And seeing how today is my day off, I've managed to stay in my warm fuzzy robe. And my grandma slippers are just the trick for my cold little feetsies.

I'm not the only one cold around here though....some sort of creature managed to find its way inside our walls! It's been driving me crazy all day. I heard little scurrying noises in the ceiling and then about 10 minutes later I heard whatever it is fall down one of the walls. I'm assuming it's stuck because it's been scratching the wall for hours now.

I'm somewhat hoping it will just die sooner than later (so I don't have to keep hearing it), but I don't want that either because then it will just rot and decay in my walls. Will it smell? Will I have an outbreak of maggots? Ahh!

So...Any suggestions on what to do with wall-lurking creatures?

Feeling Festive

2010-10-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year! When the leaves in the mountains start to change, the crisp cool air, the smell of baked spices, my cozy warm sweaters, and most of all...Halloween.

Over LDS conference weekend I got together with my mom and sister for a girls night. We attempted to create our own harvest decor. We went to our favorite wholesale store, Taiwan Imports, and picked out some festive flowers and garnishments.

I found these "witchy" feathers that I absolutely love! I don't know why, but if I could dream up the perfect Witch she would be covered in purple and black feathers (for those of you who remember our wedding...you know I have an odd obsession with feathers as it is).

I also put together a little candle vase full of "corn treats" (did I get it right this time Montgomery's?). Now if only I could keep Mark from eating out of it...

And that's about as plain and simple as I get for Halloween this year. Some day I would love to totally deck out my place with all sorts of spooky and fall-ish things. But for now...my glittery home-made feathery pumpkin will do!

Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken

2010-09-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

Today I watched an oldie. Today I watched a goodie...

(love these two)

All you "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken" fans...please put your hands up.

Still can't believe they got horses to actually do this...

Heavenly...

2010-09-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

Could it get any better? I dare say NAY!

I am never making a boxed cake again. This cake is far too delectable. I found the recipe here. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a sucker for chocolate. So when I saw this double layer of chocolatey goodness I had to try it. It's a perfect blend of richness, moistness, and fluffiness.

I'll be honest. When it comes to cakes I always take the easy way out and buy the $.99 box at the store, whip it up, and put it my name on it. Little did I know what I was missing out on when it comes to cakes and frosting made from scratch. Yum! Another MUST try.

The Nordstrom

2010-09-22T21:38:00.002-07:00

Alright...I mind as well share what's new. I am now officially working for Nordstrom! You may recall I was having a hard time finding/picking a job. Turns out it wasn't that hard...Nordstrom just felt right. I'm in week 2 and so far I am LOVING it. Yes...I am a college graduate and loving my job in retail sales (who'd of thunk?). I get to do what I love every day...SHOP (only I do it vicariously through other people). Some days kind of stink because not a lot of people come in to buy, but other days (like today) are awesome.

I was helping a woman pick out an outfit to send to her daughter for her birthday. She wanted to get her a good fall outfit to wear to work. So we browsed the store and I put together a very darling (in my opinion) work outfit. Consisting of these items: Houndstooth Skirt, Ruffle Bow Tank, Halogen Cardi. She was the sweetest lady and kept telling me how helpful I was being. Then she said she would need to go look at shoes. I told her I would go down and help her pick out some shoes to go with the outfit. She asked me if I could do that since I work in clothing, I told her of course I could! So we went downstairs and found these fun flats to go with. She was so happy to have found the whole outfit for her daughter. We got everything bundled up and shipped it to her daughter to be there in time for her birthday. Then the sweet lady asked me what my managers name was and what the store's managers name was and said she was going to go march back upstairs and tell them how helpful I was and how "In all [her] years of shopping at Nordstrom she had never received such customer service as [I] showed [her]." Then she asked me when I would be working next because she wanted to come in and have me help her find some things for herself and for her son. Yay!

Then I was helping another customer find a top to go with a skirt she had bought for her daughter. It was a really unusual mauve/pink color and hard to match, but I found her the perfect thing to go with it. She, too, told me how helpful I was and also asked if I would be working this weekend to help her find some things for herself. Luckily, I am!

And that's when no matter how much you sell you still have a great day at work. Not to mention my sales were pretty great too. So...next time your in Nordstrom at Fashion Place Mall come say hi to me. I promise I won't make you buy anything, but I would love to see all your beaming faces.

p.s. Don't you love this cute Boyfriend Cardi I bought for myself today...

Cabbage? And Squash?

2010-09-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

Remember my delicious basket of fruits and veggies? Well, it's been a week and the majority of it has been consumed! I had absolutely no idea what to do with the cabbage and butternut squash though. Neither seemed to intrigue my pallet, so needless to say they were both neglected for quite some time. After much research (and mustering up the courage to try something new), I found some recipes that I thought might liven them up a bit.

First, the cabbage (for some reason I keep picturing cabbage patch dolls prancing around...freaky). I found a recipe for an Oriental Chicken Salad. I recall having this once upon a time at a baby shower or something. Of course you would expect that...cabbage seems to be such a dainty food. It turned out pretty delicious and made for a perfect TV dinner for me Friday night.

Secondly, I found this recipe for Butternut Squash Bread earlier on in the week. I just never had the time to whip it up...until today. I was sort of hesitant to try it out because vegetable are NOT my forte. However, I knew that pumpkin bread and zucchini bread always turned out delicious...so why not butternut squash? And I was right! It was Ta-huh-asty!

Bountiful Baskets

2010-09-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

Ever feel like the grocery store is ripping you off in the produce department? I always do, especially when I really want to be healthy and get the good stuff. Why is it that a box of Macaroni costs only 99 cents but you have to give a leg and arm for actual food?

I now have a solution! Jessica introduced me to Bountiful Baskets this week. Bountiful baskets is a Food Co-Op with locations all across the state (and in some other states). What you do is sign up for a food baskets online early Monday night (and you have to be quick because they go fast), and then the following Saturday morning you drive to your location of choice and pick up this huge basket of fresh food! It's 50% veggies and 50% fruit, and it's all only $15.

So, I went and picked up my basket early this morning and was so pleasantly pleased! Honestly, I don't know how we're going to eat all of this food, but I can't wait to start. I'll let you know how my cooking adventures turn out this week (I already have THIS in mind for the butternut squash).

Speaking of cooking adventures... Ever feel like dinner just ends up being whatever you can scramble together out of your cabinets? Many times I'm not so lucky with the results, but last night I was! It's not your traditional Roast Beef sandwich, but I had a roast...so that should work right? Au Ju!

And on a completely different note...this is what happens when you have a headstand contest with your husband. Don't you hate how the littlest things hurt the most! (p.s. please don't look at my nail polish job...it's scary). I may have been injured in the battle, but needless to say...he got served!

I can Fondue....Can you Fondue?

2010-09-04T19:40:00.001-07:00

Yes ladies and gentleman, we fondued. We fondued hardcore. My younger bro Parker came up with this fabulous idea earlier today to create our own "Melting Pot" restaurant at home. And what a great idea it was.

For starters, I made this delish cheese fondue. It's a bit of an acquired taste (cheese and fruit combo), but surprisingly tasty.

For our second course we switched to fondueing (is that a word?) meat.

And finally, topped of the evening with the ever so delicious chocolate fondue. Mmm, anything is good as long as it's smothered in chocolate.

I'm so glad I got to enjoy this experience with my family! Fondue takes A LOT of preparation, and that was honestly what made this whole thing fun. Just spending time with the family in the kitchen. Is there any greater thing? I think not.

Suga Suga!

2010-09-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

Oooh how I am craving some Beyond Glazed doughnuts right now!

Don't they look delish! Oooh, they taste so much better than they look. Robin introduced these gems to me on our camping trip. Lets just say those two dozen doughnuts went fast (thanks to me taste testing every single flavor).

You would be surprised how good a bacon and maple doughnut is. And the Key Lime was tasty tasty! I could go on, but I will stop because I am making myself drool. And I am really quite sad that they are located all the way out in Draper right now. Perhaps it's a good thing they're not close to me...Lord knows what kind of temptations I would fall into. But seriously... YOU MUST TRY!

Art...or something

2010-08-31T09:30:00.000-07:00

Remember how I exchanged my Kitchenaid? Well...I had enough dough left over to get this beauty! Isn't it fun?! Typically I am not a fan of mass produced art (and part of me still hates if for being just that), but something about it "spoke to me." I love the whimsical nature of it and all the fun colors! Plus, I really needed something to fill up that huge empty wall. Love.

On another note, my sister bought me this adorable cute little birdie. Isn't he darling? And thanks to my mom handing down this awesome chest to me, I now have the perfect little set up for my dining room corner. Mark still doesn't quite get it but I love to decorate and create. Yes, we probably have way to many things in our little apartment, but somehow I still manage to find "empty" spaces anyhow.

Now...on to the next project!

"Mixed" Decisions

2010-08-28T21:25:00.001-07:00

I'll be honest with myself...I am the WORST decision maker in the entire world. And I know exactly what my problem is...but I don't know how to fix it. Problem: When faced with multiple fabulous options I can never pick just ONE!

Exhibit A: Earlier this evening I went to go exchange my KitchenAid for a different one. I had the Heavy Duty Bowl-Lift model, but was never completely satisfied with it. The mixer would never get the bottom or sides of the bowl so I always ended up hand mixing the dang thing anyway. So...I went to exchange it for the traditional Tilt-Head mixer.

So as I sat staring at all the different colors of mixers you can get now I ran into my common decision dilemma. I thought, "Oooh, Tangerine is fun! Maybe Red? Whites always reliable though. Stainless steel is sleek. This Grey looks kind of cool and industrial. I wish they had my favorite Martha Stewart Blue one."

About 10 minutes later of just plain staring at the mixers a sales associate came up to me and asked me if I needed any help finding a mixer. I panicked and quickly chose the Grey industrial colored one, because it seemed fun and different.

Then I got home, opened the box, and didn't even pull it out because I knew I chose the wrong color! Just by seeing the tiniest sliver of the mixer through the packing I could already tell that the Grey would look terrible. I should have gone with the stainless steel. Dag Nabit! So next week I will have to make one more stop to Bed, Bath, & Beyond to once again face the wall of colorful mixers.

Now, take what you just learned about me from Exhibit A and let's apply it to Exhibit B....

Exhibit B: After months and months of searching and applying for jobs, and not hearing a single word back on any of them, 3 different jobs opportunities suddenly decide to present themselves at the same time!!! I can barely pick out a bloody mixer. How the "you know what" am I supposed to pick between different jobs!

So once again, I find myself staring at a wall of colorful options and don't have the slightest clue which ONE to pick. I've been offered a full-time job at Nordstrom's, but have been invited back to second interview for Overstock.com. Then I hope to also get this job working in marketing for Iasis hospitals. They're all so different!

I know I love to shop at Nordstrom, and I really think I would like working there (Reliable White), but would it really give me the kind of experience I need? The Overstock.com position is a bit of a gamble, but seems like a great opportunity to get some merchandising experience (The Flashy Tangerine). The healthcare marketing job would be a dream, but at this point it seems more it a dream then a reality due to my lack of experience (Desired Sleek Stainless Steel).

I just don't want to end up picking the "Grey" job that I'll get home and decide it doesn't suite my style...if you know what I mean. Only this time I can't just exchange one job for another. Ahhh!

Military Ball

2010-08-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

Mark's Guard Unit had their Military Ball last night. As exciting as these things are...I was actually excited to play dress-up. You don't get to wear fancy dresses very often once all those high school dances are done and over with. Luckily, I was able to fit into one of those old fancy-spancy dresses and wear it for one more night out on the town (and I'm telling you...it was a close call). And of course Mark was looking handsome in his uniform.
I also got to see Mark's nursing skills in action. One of the officers had a seizure and passed out about 30 minutes into the "Meet and Greet." Mark, being the unit's medic, hastily ran to his side and helped bring him back and conscious. It was kind of scary. In the mean time a few of us tried to comfort his wife, who was shaking frantically and was completely shocked. Ten minutes later the ambulance was there and he was whisked away. I have to tell you though, I don't know that I have ever been so proud of my hubby. He is such a good nurse. At the end of the night, the guest General awarded Mark a coin (it's a military thing apparently) for his prompt actions. Way to go babe! (FYI...the guy is fine.)

The rest of the night was filled with delicious food and the traditional "Grog." Which is a ridiculous army tradition where anyone caught breaking any "rules" of the night must pay a fine and visit the Grog (which is a drink mixture made of every single liquor you can get your hands on). Let me tell you, there was some crazy people by the end of the night. But after-all, this is Utah. So there was also a non-alcoholic Grog which Mark had to only partake of a few times.

So that was our very last hoo-ra before schools starts for Marky. I highly doubt we will have anything exciting happen in the near future considering his incredibly full schedule. So...until next time!

Happy Versary!

2010-08-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

I've been married to my hunk of burnin' love for 1 whole year! I can hardly believe it, but it's true. They say the first year of marriage is the toughest. I say if that's true than we'll have it pretty damn easy. Sure, life has thrown a few curve balls at us, but that's what makes it such an accomplishment.

(Our friends gave us this saying on a magnet. I think it's hilarious!)

Anyway...we had such a great weekend celebrating. Mark had Friday night off work so we went to the Anniversary Inn. We had the Romeo & Juliet Suite. And boy was it sweet! We just hung out all night, watched movies, baffled at the size of the enormous tub, had complimentary cheesecake and sparkling cider, and all sorts of fun. p.s. They have killer military discounts. We initially used Mark's IHC discount but later found out that the military discount was almost double. Highly recommend using it if you can!

As tradition would have it...we unfroze our year old wedding cake. Remember this beauty...

Yup...the one that was NOT suppose to be fondant but was anyway (and may or may not have possibly turned me into bridezilla). Well, it turns out that one year old fondant isn't any better than regular fondant. The carrot cake, however, was surprisingly moist and tasty. After 2 bites though, we were done. Kind of makes me wish we would have just eaten it right after our reception. It's a waste of a perfectly good cake if you ask me.

So...one year down. Here's to plenty more! Luv ya babe!

Shark Bait...Muahaha!

2010-08-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

So I didn't have time to post about our fabulous adventure to the Living Planet Aquarium last weekend....so it's going up now. Our brother-in-law, Evan, is one of the head honchos over all the little fishes and other swimming/creepy crawling things. So we got a "behind the scenes" tour by one of the most knowledgeable fish tour guides you will ever find.

(I realize you can't really tell....but there are cute, stinky, cold little penguins behind us)

Not only did we see adorable penguins, but a huge anaconda too. If you look in that first picture we're all holding it's recent shedding. It wrapped all the way around me, Even, Clint, & Kristin. Eek! We also played with the sting-ray, saw the secret village of talking parrots, and even gazed down into the shark tank!

If you haven't ever been to the aquarium I would highly recommend it. It makes for fun afternoon, and I'd imagine you could stay there forever if you had kids to take along. Thanks again Evan & Robin for taking the time of your day to show us around. We had a blast.

Vernon....ever heard of it?

2010-08-10T08:57:00.001-07:00

Me either...until this last weekend. It's this itty bitty place way out in the middle of no where. And why do you ask I was out in good old Vernon. For this my friends, for this....(p.s. I may or may not have way too many pictures in this post)

Friday night we met up with the Montgomery gang and had a rockin' camp out. Mark made some delicious salsa for us all!

Now tell me...have you ever seen such a beautifully roasted ginormous marshmallow? I thought not...
Saturday we woke up and got ready to hit the trails. Vernon, although desolate and plain, made for some great riding. We had a blast!

(Markie Mark lookin' ever so sexy on his bike)

(Me)

(Jenny, Darin, & Tate)

(Taylor, Steve, Melanie, Eric, & Porter)

(The whole ridin' crew)

The kids blow me away at how skilled they are. Seriously, they are better riders than me. Just check out their sweet air...

(Porter=Fearless)

(Taylor is a mad man)

(Uncle Mark is crazy)

(Just climbing a mountain to find some fire wood)

(So proud of his fire...)

Officially Official

2010-08-04T22:40:00.000-07:00

Although it was already official as of April 23rd...now it's officially official. Paper in hand baby! Feels so good!Yet...still wondering what to do with my life...

Ridin' Dirty to Ben Lomond Peak

2010-07-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

To preface...I must say that I am very lucky to have husband who believes I can conquer anything and can do anything the world. But there was a lesson well learned in this situation...Never overestimate ones abilities and underestimate the challenge. Mark had a great idea to take me riding up to the top of Ben Lomond peak. For him, this seemed like such a simple task. Ride 45 minutes up, hike 30 minutes to the top, turn around and cruise on down the mountain. Now let me remind you that I am still a beginner, although you could consider me somewhat of a natural on a bike. Let me map for you exactly what our journey entailed:

This is Mount Ben Lomond. We started to the right in the North Ogden Pass. We zig-zagged our way up the mountain, where we then moved over to the other side of the mountain and proceeded to do more zig-zaggs. Then, we came back out onto the front side and drove across to the base of Ben Lomond peak, where we then zig-zagged some more till we go no further. From there, we hiked the rest of the way to the top. Mind you...Mark has completed this route in about an hour. It took us 2 hours, way to go Michelle!

Coming down was SUPPOSE to be a cinch, too. "It's just like riding a mountain bike, all you have to do it stay in neutral and use your breaks." I'm sorry, but A) mountain bikes don't weigh 300 pounds, B) mountain bike breaks are much much simpler, C) I've never actually ridden a mountain biked on such terrain so I don't even know what it's suppose to feel like. Anyway...after a much dreaded and almost life threatening descent, we made it back down. Total time...6 hours. Once again...Go Me! Regardless, it was such a great experience and the ride was beautiful (at least I think it was...all I can really remember is looking about 5 feet in front of me at all times).

Here we are about 1/4 of the way up when we crossed over the other side of the mountain and had a beautiful view of the valley.

This was about the last time you could see our car. No going back now.

We made it to the top!

My attempt at creating a panoramic view of Ogden from atop the peak.

The view was amazing. And check out that awesome shot I got of that eagle.

So if you've ever hiked up to Ben Lomond peak you're probably thinking, "What is she complaining about, it's not that hard to hike up." To you I say, try doing it on a motorbike where at any second you could tweak your handle bars and drive off the 2 foot wide trail and plummet to you death (which I nearly did on several occasion). Then come talk to me...

Bye Bye Sunshine. Bye Bye Duck Tape.

2010-07-28T18:06:00.001-07:00

For the past who knows how long, this has been Mark's version of blocking the sunlight from our bedroom window so he can sleep during the day after a long night sift.
Yup...that's duck tape. And as perfectly happy as I am that Mark can get some sleep in broad daylight, we all know that duck tape is NO BEUNO for the paint on your walls.

Go ahead and count with me...1...2...3...that's 3 blankets stuffed behind my hidden curtain rod.

Low and behold, behind the 3 blankets and already existing curtains there were pillows stuffed in the window. No way any light was getting through this masterpiece of a design!
However...as you can see our blinds have been suffering. Yes...in this picture they are in the closed position, but you would never know it the way they have melted and drooped due to the mass amounts of suffocation and heat. So...I knew it was time I took matters into my own hands.

After much research, I found this totally awesome Blackout Fabric that supposedly blocks light completely. It's typically used for home theater windows, and I prayed it would be the perfect solution to our sunlight dilemma. Best part about it, it's suppose to be a great insulator too, so it can reflect the sunlight and keep the cool air inside.

I didn't want anything to be permanent because I wanted to still be able to let sunlight in when Mark wasn't sleeping. So I used some handy dandy velcro to put it up, that way it can come off in a cinch! Yes...velcro is tacky, but it's better than duck tape.

Lookey there...doesn't that look much better. And what do you know, it really does block out the sunlight! Just to prove it...here's a picture of the window with the lights off and my camera flash off. Voila!

I realize all of this is probably completely nonsense and uninteresting to all of you. But I can't tell you how glad I am that I no longer have to deal with stuffed blankets! But then I think....maybe some of you other fellow night workers could use a tip or two...maybe.