Here's what I got!

I thought I would take a picture and explain what I received this week and what I'm planning on making in case anyone is interested.

Fruit:
5 Bananas
Bunch of Green Grapes
Cantaloupe
5 Large Peaches (bigger this week)
8 Nectarines

Veggies:
2 Tomatoes
Bag of Green Beans
Bag of Potatoes
Eggplant
Romain Lettuce
Cabbage

Meal Possibilities-
Cabbage: Oriental Chicken Salad, Egg Rolls, Coleslaw, Tacos a la "taco cart" (they use cabbage instead of lettuce)
Eggplant: Eggplant Parmesan (requested by Jared)
Potatoes: Fries, Twice Baked Potatoes, Potato Wedges
Nectarines: Honey-Mustard Nectarine Kabobs
Peaches: Peach Crisp
Green Beans: Green Bean Bundles, Country Green Beans
Romaine: Salads
Bananas: Banana Bread (need to give to new neighbors)
Grapes: will probably just be eaten....YUM!
Tomatoes: Served on tacos or sprinkled with salt and pepper

Mango Sticky Rice

Wow! Two posts in one month...Kim will be so proud.

Last week, we ventured into the world of Bountiful Baskets. It is a food co-op where you can get produce at a fraction of the price ($15.00 for one basket). I can't remember exactly what we got last week but here's a rundown: mangoes, bananas, plums, peaches, cantaloupe, strawberries, grape tomatoes, celery, romaine lettuce, cucumber, sweet potatoes, & green beans. I may have forgot something.

Anyway, because of this adventure, we have been eating "fresh" produce. It is a little embarrassing to admit, but we really haven't had a lot of produce around the house since we've been married (unless of course it has been for a recipe.) I took it as a challenge this week to use all our produce this week since I didn't know how long it would last.

Here are some of the meals/dishes we've had this week:
Peaches & Plums in milk with sugar
Chicken Satay, Cucumber Salad, Romaine Salad, Mango Sticky Rice
Chicken Tacos with Mango & Avocado Salsa
Peach & Strawberry Freezer Jam
Hamburgers & Sweet Potato fries
Pasta salad with tomatoes & celery
Baked Rigatoni & steamed green beans

Tomorrow we pick up another basket and I'm excited to see what it contains so I can plan next week's meals. I has been fun and it feels good to be eating healthier.

Our House....In the Middle of Our Street

We just moved into our first house. Seeing that our house was built in 1910, it can use a little "updating." Well, actually it was updated in the 70's so we would like to un-70s-fy it. We will be progressing one room at a time. I thought I would post some photos of the current state of the house (interior).

Front RoomLiving Room

Downstairs Bedroom (Guest)

Downstairs Bath

Kitchen/Laundry Room

Upstairs Bedroom 1Upstairs Bedroom 2

Upstairs Bathroom

Upstairs Bedroom 3 (Master)

Online Sewing Class

I have decided to take part in this online sewing class. One day--when I have the time--I will get around to actually sewing these items, but for now I know that they are there. I'm really excited since I have never taken a formal sewing class in school...probably because I took drafting. ;)

First Day of School

Yeah! Jared posted to our blog! He started his own blog about his bike and other projects so I'll have him post the link for any who are interested. (He'll probably update his blog more often than we update this one.)

So...today was the first day of school and I'm so excited because I don't have to teach Careers this year! It's great to be able to teach classes where students actually want to be there. I will still have challenges (four different classes) but I will also have a lot of fun.

School

So I don't have much to say, other than meetings are not the funnest thing.  So school starting up and the copies are being made and the material is being ordered.

Adventures in Colorado Springs

If you read Jared's previous post (props to you honey for actually posting on our blog) then you'll know that I have been in Colorado for the past two weeks. I am here because I am attending a training for Project Lead the Way and I will be teaching the Principles of Engineering class next year. It has been an intense training with math that I haven't seen since college--and also some I have never seen before.

We didn't have classes over the weekend so a group of us went exploring Colorado Springs. Our first stop were some cliff dwellings in Manitou Springs (not to be confused with Mesa Verde). We also drove through the Garden of the Gods. We decided to stop at the "Trading Post" and were shocked to see Dog the Bounty Hunter and his wife. I instantly called Jared to tell him the news and he was greatly disappointed that I didn't get his autograph.

Well, I think that will be all for tonight. I will be meeting Jared in Denver tomorrow afternoon and then we head off to Ohio for another 3 weeks and there are bound to be many more adventures.

Go Skate Day

It was awesome! Well for me, Khristen is in CO for 10 more days and I'm home alone. So today I drove around Utah with a bunch of strangers and made some sweet friends and skated my brains out. I got a "little" sun, and a "few" raspberries" and a stubbed toe nail, all worth it. Khristen hasn't mentioned on here yet but I have bought a Motorcycle and I am doing a one off build, or customizing the crap out of it. I hope to finish it before I leave for Ohio on the 2nd of July. It has been in the works since March. But the strangers I road around with today all had some sweet bikes, and It really makes me want to finish mine. I start my motorcycle riders safety course this week on Wednesday, which I am super excited about.

Going off my wifes last post I think she will continue to teach, I know I will after my first year. Sure there are days when those petri dishes or students are hell bent on being minions from the dark side, but you have to love them and help them see the light...haha with my fist (JK not funny or serious)

Well I am done I should of gone to bed right when I got home.

End of the Quarter Makes Me Rethink My Career

It is the end of the quarter for school and it is at these times of the year that I wonder if I chose the right career. I thought it was stressful as a student but all I had to do was turn things in....not grade all the projects and assignments! My patience is really tested by students trying to hurry and get their grades up...urg!!! You are a pain in my side!!!

Well, that's going to be all of my venting on the blog. I'm sure that I'll be feeling better next week.

Skating

I am back to skating....well, I have been back for awhile now. Jordan got me coaching at the Peaks last year since my year-sabatical from "Learn to Skate" (group lessons). Since coming back, I got promoted to a Staff Professional which means that I also coach private lessons. I'll let you know how that goes when I have more to talk about on that one.

Also, I have decided to pass off a couple more of my "Moves In the Field" tests. For those of you who may not know the lingo--MIF are tests in which we do footwork sequences. They are not the most exciting things to watch (ask my parents) because they involve no music and really no audience. The reason I finally had the push is because they are going to be making each level more difficult in September. It will also help with my skating and coaching.

Anywho, that's just what's on my mind since I've been at the rink all day!

We should just quit this blogging thing!

We are losers! We never-ever update our blog. We even got ourselves a camera for Christmas and were thinking that it would inspire us to take pictures, but as evident on our blog, we have not.

Life is going for both Jared and I. We are in 3rd quarter which is the longest quarter of the school year. Hopefully it will go by quickly. We are already planning our trip to Wisconsin and Ohio for this summer. We have to continually remind ourselves that it is still several months away.

I guess being Valentine's Day I should update you on what we did. Well, we mainly celebrated our "love" last weekend by going to the spa and enjoying chocolate back treatments (like a facial for your back) and chocolate pedicures. Then on Friday night I hosted the "Divas" to dinner: spinach artichoke appetizers, salad, Pesto Pasta (from one of my fav cooking blogs), and to finish (drum roll please) Mocha Molten Cakes sin mocha from Pillsbury. If your mouth is watering, check out the recipes online to try them out. They were yummy!

BYU Homecoming Dinner

A few weeks ago Jared and I went on a date with some of our friends to the first annual "Married Student" Homecoming activity. It was actually a lot of fun. The main reason we went is because Tucano's catered the meal (which was still all-you-can-eat). The entertainment was great though--it consisted of singing while we were eating and then HumorU gave us a few snipits of a comedy act...very funny. I just thought I would post a picture of us for Kim!

Pics from Chicago

We finally got our disposable camera developed (don't worry, I had them make a CD since everything digital now) so I thought I would post some of our pictures for you to see.

Jared and I at the "beach." We laughed because it looked like they paid a lot of money to bring in sand to cover the asphalt.

It was raining and yet a lot of people went to this outdoor concert. I think I'm going to have my students study Frank Ghery and his sketching technique--random.

The four of us at the "Taste of Chicago."

On the boat before our architecture cruise. We were soaked by then but luckily it cleared up for our cruise and the fireworks.

Update Needed

I've been told that I need to update our blog so that people know what is going on with us. Since I last wrote, we have both started school and are almost done with first quarter. We have been pretty busy getting our year started off.

Here are some things that happened since I last wrote:
1. First anniversary
2. Hiked Mt. Timpanogos
3. Spencer (Amber and Steven's baby) was born
4. School Started
5. Spencer was blessed
6. Parent/Teacher Conferences
7. Jackson (Kim and TJ's baby) was born

1st Anniversary

We started off our anniversary by hiking Mt. Timpanogos. It wasn't our original plan, it was just the day that worked for everyone else. After our long hike, we decided to take a nap and then go to Tucanos for dinner. Jared had never been before so I taught him how to not fill up on the salads because there meat is oh so tasty. He loved it because the meat was cooked just how he likes it--bleeding still.

This month with be a busy one filled with the end of our first quarter (yay!), fall breaks, trip to Park City with students, and Provo/Springville/Mapleton's Junior Miss. I will try to keep you updated on our oh so exciting lives!

Floatin' Down the River

I haven't been so diligent in my posting of our summer activities so I thought I should get caught up. A couple of weeks ago we went to Vernal with the fam to go white-water rafting down the Green River. It was a lot of fun and it was good to visit Vernal (I hadn't been there in two years!) Jared had fun too because G'ma has a problem with pigeons and she let Jared use them as target practice. He got four but 15 more came the day after we left. At least I know that he'll have something to do every time that we go.

I'm in LOVE with The Grocery Game!!!!

Yesterday I went to Albertson's and got a cart full of food. When my total first rang up it was $197.00. After my coupons and Preferred card, my total was $85.00!! I saved $112.00!!!! I'm such a dork but it actually is a "game" to see how much I can save. I get so excited after each trip that I can't wait to look at the bottom of the receipt when they hand it to me (remember when they used to tell you how much you saved? I think my trips would be a little more exciting if they announced my savings to everyone else in line behind me). I also call Jared and my mom while I'm in the parking lot and make them guess how much I saved for that trip.

I first heard about The Grocery Game from my cousin Erin. It is an online service that goes through all the sales (advertised and non-advertised) and coupons and creates a list telling you what are the best deals at your grocery store. They have a 4 week trial that is FREE!!! Once you sign up, then it goes through and tells you what to do. They use the coupons that are in the Sunday paper and they give advice on how many to get for your size of family. They use the idea of "stockpiling" so that you always have food in your pantry thus eliminating unnecessary trips to the store. If you decide to give it a try, use my email (khristen1(at)hotmail.com) because I can earn free weeks.

Have fun and let me know how it goes!

On the Road Again...

This last weekend we spent in Lake Havasu City, AZ. I would have called it "sunny" although that would have been a HUGE understatement (120 degrees is more than sunny). With this trip we decided that we would hit two birds with one stone: 1) Amber's (Jared's sister) baby shower, 2) Mini Anniversary celebration (it's all about the bath tubs--I'll explain more later).

1. Amber is having a boy in August so we went down to celebrate one of the showers. (I was sad to learn that Kim had one of her showers that same day but I am happy to know that I have a few more options to shower her with gifts.) She is really excited for baby Spencer to come and she hopes that she is ready. Amber is a great cook and a great hostess so we always enjoy staying with her because of her hospitality. We always come home from Havasu well-fed--especially for Thanksgiving.

2. We also went down to celebrate our Anniversary which doesn't really happen until next month but here's the story. Back when I worked for Studio Il Bagno (selling plumbing fixtures) I sold some very high-end imported brands of faucets, toilets, and tubs. We sold a particular air-jet tub from BainUltra. I was able to go to the factory in Quebec City for a week and learn all about the tubs. I already loved the tubs before I went because they are completly sanitary--this contrary to most "jetted" tubs. Now for your tub lesson of the day: typical jetted tubs use large jets where they suck in water and shoot it back out at the user. This would be fine and dandy except that there is water always in the system; thus having a black sludge come out of the jets when they are turned on. If that sounds gross then try this one on for size--most hotels use these types of jets in their rooms/suites so you are essentially bathing in someone elses bath water. YUM!! Well, with BainUltra, they use an air jet system that uses air to create the massage so no water or crud is left in the tub. In addition, 10 minutes after the cycle is done and the water is drained, the air turns on again for a minute and blows out any water that could possibly be left in the channels keeping it hygenic.

To tie this all together BainUltra has a place on thier site where you can "experience" one of their tubs and it lists several hotels. When we were planning our honeymoon we wanted to go to to one of these hotels because now I have a jetted-tub-phobia. One of the hotels was the Heat in Lake Havasu. So that explains why one of our nights we stayed in a hotel--the bath tub. There were a few other perks that made Jared never want to leave: Tempurpedic king-sized mattress complete with six fluffy pillows (80% duck feathers 20% duck down to be completely correct) and a view of the chanel and the London Bridge (imported from London--true story). Needless to say, we will be going back to Havasu for Thanksgiving and this time we want to try one of thier suites.

The Summer of Travel Has Begun

In May our friends from Ohio, Brendon and Jena, were in town for Brendon's brother's wedding. It was a very short trip so we randomly decided to go on a vacation together over the 4th of July. We tried to choose a place that was inexpensive for both couples to get to and so we chose Chicago. I absolutely loved it because of the architecture, history, food, and friends. We stayed in the Palmer House Hotel which was a historic hotel that has been in down-town Chicago since 1871 (of course it has been rebuilt a couple of times and we stayed in the building that was completed in the 1920s).

We did a lot of walking (just ask Jared) but we saved a ton of money because we rode public transit. For the 4th we went on an architecture cruise around the city that ended with fireworks.

Pictures are still to come since Jared and I invested in a Kodak disposable camera for the trip and we have to get it developed.

I am currently in the process of packing to leave for Lake Havasu, AZ this afternoon. I'll let you know how it goes.

Whitney wins Miss Utah!!!

Whitney became my friend last year as we competed for Miss Utah. She's a doll and so sweet. I'm proud to have her represent the state and she will do a great job!
This pic is from last year. Kim, you'll have another Miss Utah to cheer for.

A week of Junior Miss

I have been going to various JM programs this week because I am co-directing Provo/Springville's program. The think I'm realizing is that most programs are having a problem with keeping the time down. Props go to Jared for going with me to Davis County's program and staying for 3 hours (we left early!!!). Don't worry, if any of you are planning on coming to our program, we are going to try to get it under 2 hours.