Oh, Hey!

Um...I realize we pretty much dropped off the face of the planet. But this past month has been SO crazy. Just so you all know...we made it to Arizona! We got here last week and its been great! Aside from the weather, anyways. Gives a literal meaning to "Drop it like it's hot." Its consistently above 100 degrees and dry as..a desert. Go figure. But truth be told, I'll take this hot summer over an Idaho winter any day. One of the great things about being out here is that everything is within 5 minutes of you. Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby, Winco, In-n-out, Cheesecake Factory, the mall, you name it. Its so convenient. Right now i'm working at the plasma center. I know, I know. You all are thinking " Wait, didn't she just graduate from college?" The answer is yes, yes I did. But, I can't teach without a license, and I've been waitng for my Idaho licence for about 6 weeks now. I can't apply for my Arizona license until I get my Idaho lisence and I can't apply for jobs until I have my licence. Hence, the plasma center. Oh...the interesting people I have met. Anyways. Brennen started school this week and is already studying in the cadaver lab.  Yay. Maybe someday I will post all the pictures from my phone  so you can see what its really like out here.  We love our apartment! Apparently we live in the "nice" part of town. Five things I love about this apartment: garbage disposal, dishwasher, washer, dryer, and walk-in master closet. None of which we had in rexburg. It's also on the first floor which is amazing. We requested the first or third floor (third floor because we wouldn't have to worry about hearing the neighbors above us) and I am so so so SO glad we got the first floor because I can't imagine hauling all our crap up to the third floor! In 100 degree weather. Everything is unpacked except for the spare bedroom which will likely stay in boxes until we have a legitimate use for it. Our bedroom has been turned into the beddroom/study area and is the hottest room in the whole building, I'm sure. I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too. The water here is extremely nasty. Like worse than Utah water nasty. Luckily we got a Pur water filter pitcher for our wedding and never needed it until now. It makes the water 100 times better. I just learned that there is a temple being built about 10 minutes away from us in Gilbert and another in Phoenix in addition to Mesa, Gila Valley, Tuscon and Snowflake! What an exciting time for Arizona! I am hoping to go to the Gilbert temple open house and dedication! I read some info about the temples on the church's website and they said that no one formally filed a complaint on building the Gilbert temple. But the Phoenix temple has recieved a lot of opposition. So much, that the Church completely redesigned the temple from the original plans in hopes that those opposing the construction would be assuaged. Interesting stuff, and I'm excited to be a part of it. Well, that's all for now. Here are some pics of what we've been up to.

Haircuts

It's now 12:04 a.m. and my husband decides its the perfect time to give himself a haircut. Sweet. Here's to falling asleep alone tonight...boo. in other hair news, I managed to get my hair into a pony today! Woop! Behold:

Pageviews and Health

Alright. So the last few weeks I have been seeing the pageviews for my blog skyrocket. And when I say skyrocket, I mean go from maybe 3 a day to about 12. Whooooo. But then I look at that cool map thingy that tells me where all the views are coming from and it says USA and Russia? Ummm...cool. Thanks Russia for viewing my blog! Anyways...life after student teaching has gone about like this: wake up, do nothing, go to bed. Seriously, all this stay-in-bed-til-noon crap has got to end. I know, I know, all you moms out there are thinking that I should just be grateful I get to sleep past 7 or 8, and it's true. I should be grateful. But I just feel so darn lazy. And I am. Because here I am, in bed, at...11:36 a.m. typing this up. Pfffffffft.

Anyways, on to health. Although I think it's important to get into a healthy exercise routine and eat healthily, I pretty much laothe working out and I would choose cheesecake over carrot sticks any day. However, that being said, I still think you should do all those things so you don't have a scare like I did last night.

I work out a little, not as much as I should, but some is better than none right? Lately I have been getting sick more often. This doesn't have anything to do with colds or the flu, but its been something similar to IBS. There is something funky going down in my digestive system and I don't like it. It always changes. Lately it's been a burning sensation down in my gut. Like heartburn only 10x worse and down by your bellybutton. Usually when it happens my blood pressure plummets and I get really lightheaded and weak. Usually I throw up from the pain. I get super sensitive to sounds like a migrane and smells like morning sickness. Usually I just have to wait it out until it stops. So I'm sitting there trying to breathe deeply and evenly, because that's usually the only thing that helps, when I feel my heart trying to pound its way out of my chest. Except it was beating really funny. Not the normal lub-dub you should feel. So I called over my husband who, very handily, is a paramedic. He checked my pulse and declared me bradycardic. Bradicardic means your heart rate is under 60 bpm or 1 beat per second. I was measuring in around 30 bpm. That's 2 beats per second. Not good. My stomach was feeling a little better after taking my blood pressure about a zillion times so he had me get up and walk around a little to try to get it up. I never could get it above 47, but after about an hour he declared me well enough, told me to keep an eye on it, and let me go to bed. So what's the moral of this story? Take care of your body and it will take care of you. We will be keeping an eye out for any indicators that it may be a more serious issue, but for now I will making sure cardio is an integral piece of my workouts so I can strengthen my heart and hopefully not have another scare like this one!

Finished

Dear everybody: I am officially a college graduate! Who would have thought I would ever live to see this day? It feels so strange not having to go to school or worry about planning lessons for tomorrow. Now it's worrying about finding a real job that pays well and actually lets me use my degree that took me 5 years to get. Its so weird. Anyways, I just thought you should all know that I am officially a grown-up now.

Game-changer

This week my second-graders were reading a story called "Jalepeno Bagels." Mrs. Havens and I thought it would be fun to make some sort of bread since the objectives for the story were to follow directions and recipies just happen to have mixed numbers in them which is what I had been teaching in math. So Friday was the day and I brought my breadmaker to school just so we could make double in the same amount of time. After the dough had risen we let the kids make it into any shape they wanted, and then baked them in a little convection oven. Oh. My. Lanta. Our classroom smelled like heaven. And I am here to tell you that this bread recipe has changed my life. And I want it to change your's too.

Easy Breadsticks

1 cup warm water
3 Tbs Brown sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp yeast

1. Combine all ingredients. Mix well.
2. Let rise for 20 or more minutes.
3. Shape dough into whatever tickles your fancy.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden.

That's it. You're done. There's oh-so-much you can do with this stuff. And its delish. I made some rolls and pretzels with mine. I even braided it. You can put in any add-ins you want. Before I put minein the oven, I brushed some butter overtop. Next I want to do some garlic salt and parmesan cheese...mmmm! Great easy recipe for family night with kids or dinner with your hubby. Seriously, guys. This stuff is so great. Try it out.

Lasagna...soup

Ok, so I've been thinking about ya'll lately and just thought that it wasn't fair if I kept this gem to myself... Here's another recipe for you. Brennen and I love it. Super delish and makes plenty of leftovers that you'll want to every night until it's gone.

Lasagna Soup

1 lb ground turkey, hamburger, or sausage
1 chopped onion
1 qt chicken or vegetable broth
Two 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes
Two 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
1Tbs Brown sugar
1 pkg Italian seasoning
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups broken lasagna noodles
1 cup Italian cheese blend
Cottage cheese

1. Brown onion and meat. Drain fat.
2. Add remaining ingredients except noodles and cheeses
3. Add remaining ingredients. Cook 30 mins on medium high.
4. Add noodles and cook until tender.
5. Add cheeses just before serving.

Feel free to cut it in half...or fourths. This will keep the two of us happy for about a week. Also super easy to make, and tastes JUST like lasagna. Enjoy!

Comfort Food

So. About food. You might not know this about me, but I LOVE food. Especially junk food. You know, chips, ice cream, cookies, the likes. At one point I even claimed that sour cream 'n onion chips were my favorite food. I know, that's gross. And trust me, my body thinks so too. Just need to send the memo over to my tastebuds. Anywhoo, recently a friend posted a recipe for some fantastic looking granola on her blog (which I will gladly put up a link to when I'm not posting from my phone anymore) and it got me thinking about my favorite foods. Now, usually I don't put up recipes because then I feel like I have to take a picture of what I'm making and then that means you seeing my disgusting sweet-potato-baby-poop colored countertops (hey, our apartment was built in the 70s, and apparently it was a popular color back then). So until we move to our new Arizona apt (which has faux granite countertops, yay!) You will just get recipes. Besides, figuring out what it's supposed to look like is half the fun anyways. And so, without further ado I give you:

Dad's Famous Mashed Potatoes

Now, before I go on, there are a few things you need to know about my family and this recipe. First, my dad is an amazing cook. Second, I learned to cook from my parents and neither of them measure ingredients. Therefore, neither do I. Third, we are not ashamed of fat. By fat, I mean butter, cream, oil, etc. So, if you are looking for healthy mashed potatoes, this probably isn't the best place for you. However, if you are looking for delicious mashed potatoes, you have arrived.

Dad's Famous Mashed Potatoes

Red or russet potatoes (red: 2 potatoes/person; russet: 1 potato/person)
Cream (I use 2% milk)
Sour cream
Butter
Seasonings

1. Skin, quarter, and boil potatoes over medium high to high heat. Remove from heat when tender. (This is where a lot of people go wrong making real mashed potatoes. They overcook their potatoes and then it turns into a bland, sloppy mess. I cook them until I can poke a fork into a piece and it will split in half without any extra effort, and then I cook them for 5 more minutes.)

2. Drain potatoes and move to standing mixer or mixing bowl. (You can use an electric hand mixer if you want, but it will get very messy, very fast. I would recommend mashing them by hand .)

3. This is the tricky part. Add cream, sour cream, and butter. How much you add will depend on how creamy you want them and what you want the texture to be like. For 4 russet potatoes I usually add 2 tbs butter, 1/4 cream (milk), 2 dollops sour cream. Taste them often to get them to where you want them. Specific, I know.

4. Add seasonings to taste. These can be whatever you want. I always use garlic salt. Some other favorite add-ons are cheddar cheese and bacon. Add some parsley to give it color. Mmmm...

And voila!! The best mashed potatoes under the sun. You'll never go back to using those fish-food-flake insta-potatoes again!