Sunday, June 29, 2008

Crepes

Okay, so there's a story to tell. First, though, I have to let Josh know that there are no hard feelings about this incident anymore. Really. But I have to tell the story anyway.

The last time I made crepes was probably four years ago. I was babysitting, and I decided I would make them for all my little siblings. My cousin Tate was over, too. So that meant there were two thirteen-year-old boys to feed. That was my first mistake.

That crepe making attempt was sort of a disaster. I made crepe after crepe after crepe, and the kids snarfed them up as fast as I could make them. I decided to set one aside for myself so I'd get at least one. So I set one on a plate and set it aside while I finished cooking the rest. Josh ate it. And I didn't get any crepes. And I decided I was never making crepes again.

But I've learned a few things over the years about making crepes.

First rule: Eat the first crepe yourself, so you are guaranteed at least one of these babies.
Second: Jambon e Fromage. aka Ham and Cheese. Once the first side of the crepe is done, flip it over and melt the cheese and warm the ham on the other side. Mmmm!
Third rule: Nutella. Nutella has opened up whole new world to me. Voila! Crepe perfection.

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 Tb. sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups milk

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

Measure flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Beat with hand mixer until smooth. For each crepe, lightly butter 8 inch skillet; heat over medium heat until butter is bubbly. (or use pan spray) Pour scant 1/4 cup of batter into skillet; immediately rotate pan until batter covers bottom. Cook until light brown; turn and brown on other side. 12 crepes. (I guess it depends on how big you make them. This recipe only made five crepes for me and Kent. If you've got a few hungry teenagers to feed, I'd probably double or even triple it. And make sure you set one aside for yourself.)

Toppings:

Nutella and Banana, Brown sugar and butter, powdered sugar and jam, peanut butter and honey, strawberries and cool whip, ham and cheese, etc. Creativity is the key!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Weekend Adventure # 4

On Friday Kent got done with work early, and I had the day off, so we went to the matinee showing of Get Smart. It was a pretty good movie. Kent laughed really, really hard. I thought it was funny too, but I wondered why they put in some of that crude humor. There was plenty of clever humor to carry the movie through. It's so sad that people feel such a need to add some of that stuff. Another reason I'm looking forward to the millennium!


After the movie Kent got his "twice-yearly IHOP craving." So we ate at IHOP, and he's good until December.

Saturday we went to a charming little restaurant at the Guenther House Mill.

It is an adorable place! They have restored the interior of the mansion at a turn-of-the-century flour mill and it's now a breakfast and lunch restaurant, hosts special events, and sells specialty baking mixes and kitchen items. I love it! The house is beautiful (I would love to have a wedding reception there), and the food was delicious AND reasonably priced. Kent got a taco salad for $7 and I got an incredible Quiche Lorraine and fruit plate for $6. After we ate, we looked through the gift shop and bought a Sweet Cream Ice Cream mix. We made homemade ice cream on Sunday with the mix, and I put fresh raspberries into mine. Mmmm! I love summertime treats!

Friday, June 20, 2008

Six months and two days anniversary!

So, what does a couple do for their one and only six month anniversary?? Get cupcakes, of course. Although we didn't get them until the day after our anniversary, and we didn't realize until today that they were for our anniversary.

We have real trouble remembering things.

But, as Kent said, at least both of us forgot so we didn't feel bad about the other person not remembering. And, the 50th anniversary is going to be a much bigger deal.

Cupcakes!







I love having a husband who is willing to be impulsive with me and go on an evening adventure to find a cupcake store. And who is willing to eat the yucky cherry off the top of my red velvet cupcake, albeit before I could take the picture. Mmmm... I adore cupcakes. And spur of the moment adventures.

Thanks for the idea, Mom! It made for a fun memory for us! And I have a new-found love for Red Velvet.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

New Job

Well, I've landed myself a position as a receptionist at a chiropractic clinic that is run by two LDS doctors. It will be great to have the extra money, not to mention having something for me to do other than just sit at home all day long. I had hoped to find a position at a place where they'd offer to pay me more than this clinic--but I didn't have much bargaining power since I have no other job offers right now. Oh well. It should be worth it. We'll see how it goes! And I really hope they give me Kent's birthday off. They told me today that this coming Friday is the only day off I'll get until I leave in August, but really, what clinic would really be open on July 4th? An emergency room I can see being open that day, but a chiropractic clinic?? That's definitely something I'm going to have to ask about when I start tomorrow. It would be a sad day if Kent had to sit home all alone on the fourth of July, his 23rd birthday.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Weekend Adventure # 3

On Friday the two of us spent the evening babysitting. A couple that also just moved into the ward wanted to go to the temple, Kent and I watched their two little girls for a few hours. It was really fun, actually. I loved watching Kent with those girls. He's SO adorable. How did I get so lucky? We had fun, and we made money on a Friday instead of spending it. That's good.

On Thursday we planned out our Saturday activity. Kent called one of his friends from high school who is in Texas right now, and asked her if she could come with us, and I asked one of my friends from the ward to come with us. We were going to go tubing down the Comal River in New Braunfels. It's actually a good thing neither of them could come, because after Kent and I drove 40 miles out to New Braunfels, this is what we saw:


Okay, okay. These are pictures from China I found online. But it's basically what the river looked like on a Saturday afternoon. And as bummed as we were about driving all that way for nothing, we really didn't want to have to sit on people in order to get in the river. So we're going to try to go on another Saturday but leave our apartment early in the morning and hopefully we'll get there before everyone else does.

The gas in New Braunfels was 3 cents cheaper. So the trip wasn't an entire loss, right? :D

We went to PF Chang's when we got back; I'd never been there, and I loved it. The lettuce wraps were awesome!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Banana Creme Pie

Yesterday Kent and I took a spur of the moment trip to Costco to buy a banana creme pie. No particular reason. Just that banana creme pie is one of the best inventions ever. Heavenly, even. There were not, however, any banana creme pies at Costco. So we bought a monstrous bag of tortilla chips and left.

We found out there is a pie sale at Marie Callendar's this week. All pies are $5.99. So, after consulting our dear friend Magellan, we head over to Marie Callendar's and buy a pie from Marie. Banana creme. Marie makes good pies.

We ate our pie (Or some of it), and I took pictures so I could post them, because it was indeed, a very heavenly pie. Yet I used the camera that we did not bring a computer cord for. And I took the pictures on the internal memory of that camera (can't switch them to the computer-compatible camera). So, here's a picture of the lots of bananas I also bought at Costco and you can imagine they are in a pie.

We settled down with our pie in front of our computer screen and turned on another episode of Lost, season one. (We watched season 4 and now we're going backwards. It's not as frustrating that way.) Halfway through, my phone rings. Someone from the ward wants me to babysit tonight. I happen to look at the clock. It's 7:30.

Rats! We were supposed to meet the bishop at 7:00!! I mouth the word "bishop" to Kent, and then I try to have an intelligent conversation with the babysitter-wanter on the phone while we rush around changing into our Sunday clothes. "Um, yeah, tomorrow at seven...should work...I...think I'll be able to do that...yeah...that will be good...um, what's your...address?"

Oh, and Kent had an interview with the bishop last week for his temple recommend. Which he completely forgot to go to.

Kent and I are going to be Nursery workers. Once we are forgiven.

Stunning

Heidi, Kent's sister-in-law, just posted the pictures that she and her husband, Sam, took of our France trip. She also did some editing to some of my pictures and Teresa's pictures. All I can say is wow. Wow, wow, wow. Those pictures are incredible!! We are so lucky that Sam and Heidi came along and got to be our "professional" photographers for our trip. Now that I've looked through all of them, I want to print off every single one and wallpaper my house with it. Seriously. They're that good.

Thanks Heidi and Sam!

To see these pictures, go here.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Weekend Adventure # 2

We started off our Friday night with a trip to a little German Deli that I read about online. The reviews were good, and so we decided to try it. Our consensus: Schilo's Delicatessen gets a thumb's up from us! The German food was great, and the prices were surprisingly low. They brew their own rootbeer, and bring it to you in big mugs. Yum! We tried their famous split-pea soup (something I'd never had before), and it was really good. I had to try not to think about how much it reminded me of baby food, though. :D
I ordered Weinerschnitzel after I asked the waitress what exactly Weinerschnitzel is. It's a breaded pork loin that they grill. Another big Yum! And Kent ordered the Potato pancakes, which were pretty good, but we're definitely going back to try some more of their menu. And we have to try their famous cheesecake next time, too. Yeah, definitely going back to Schilo's.

After we ate, we took a walk down the Riverwalk. There were a billion people out (Friday night), and it was sweltering hot (San Antonio in summertime), but I was impressed by how pretty the riverwalk area was, and I'm excited to go back sometime and try out one of the fun restaurants along the river.

We wanted some ice cream, so we stopped at a Ben and Jerry's along the riverwalk, looked at the prices, and walked back out again. We tried Haagen Dazs (whew, that was a tough one to spell!), and they were even more expensive. So, on our way back to the car, we stopped at McDonald's and got ice cream cones. 99 cents each. That's more like it. We were especially grateful for that money-saving decision when we found out we had to pay $10 for the parking garage. Bleh. Well, here's to living in the country's 28th largest city!

On Saturday we made a trip to the San Antonio LDS temple. It's beautiful! It was built in 2005, and it's just a small temple, but I was so impressed by the incredible stained-glass windows and beautiful woodwork.

Saturday night we went to see Kung Fu Panda. It was pretty funny, and Kent laughed until he cried, which made it worth it for me, too. I love it when that boy laughs like that.

Today at church we met a few new friends. Hooray! One couple invited us over for dinner tonight. And we met up with Kent's old roommate and his wife, and we're going to do something with them for next weekend's adventure.

Weekend Adventure # 1

Since I made that list of fun things to do in San Antonio, we decided we'd better use it while we are here. We only have 10 weekends here, so we've planned great adventures for each of them.

Last weekend, on Friday, we headed out to the city of New Braunfels and bought two day-passes to the Schlitterbahn water park. It was so cool! Uphill water slides, two-person water coasters, a surfing/boogie boarding wave pool... so much to do! We'd love to go again, but the tickets are quite expensive. $37.99 per person. It is a pretty big water park, for sure, but that's kind of a lot of money to us newlyweds. So maybe we'll wait until we have kids and come back in a few years. Yeah, because then we'll have even more tickets to pay for... hm.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

100 things

I always like reading these lists from other people, so I thought I'd make my own. It's crazy long, but here it is if anyone is interested in knowing...

100 things about me:

1. I like to brush my teeth in warm water.
2. Mashed potatoes are one of my favorite foods, especially from restaurants.
3. I have mild scoliosis, and my back is sore sometimes because of it.
4. I had a roommate who labeled me an “incurable optimist.”
5. Yet I wish I was as optimistic and happy as my little sister. Sometimes I think I get too easily discouraged or disappointed.
6. I wear contacts.
7. I’m dying to have Lasik someday.
8. I’ve never been pulled over.
9. I have gotten one ticket, though, because of an accident I caused when I was only 16.
10. I like to eat leftover pizza while it’s still cold.
11. I can’t get into bed unless it has been made.
12. If we don’t make the bed during the day, I make Kent wait to get in at night so I can make it first.
13. I don’t like having cups of soda (the kind you get from a restaurant) anywhere in my house.
14. A clean sink is one of my favorite things.
15. Kent and I are trying a new thing where we don’t eat after 7:30 at night.
16. My very first best friend died of a brain tumor when she was only 5. My dad and I sang “I’m trying to be like Jesus” at her funeral.
17. I have only had two pets in my life: a rabbit and a guinea pig.
18. I wrote two full length novels from when I was thirteen until I was seventeen.
19. I haven’t written any other books since then.
20. When I was in preschool I said I wanted to be a mommy when I grew up. When I was in third grade I wanted to be an author, too. Now I’m back to just wanting to be a mommy.
21. Yesterday, I had 57 things on this list, and this morning my computer has eaten them up. Oh boy. Computers frustrate me sometimes, but I’m grateful Kent is so good at using them.
22. I love the color green.
23. I hate socks. I don’t like how they feel. It doesn’t matter if they’re clean, being worn, or balled up in a corner somewhere. I don’t like them.
24. My feet are always cold. But that doesn’t convince me to wear socks. I only wear them with shoes that require it. As soon as the shoes come off, so do the socks.
25. I LOVE camping. A lot. My mom’s family goes camping nearly every year together, and it’s so fun.
26. I was born on May 24, in Colorado.
27. Until this year, I had never been farther east than the nine months I lived in Colorado after I was born.
28. I’ve been to France twice, a fact that still amazes me.
29. Kent was the first person ever to ask me on second date.
30. So, naturally, he was the first person I “dated.”
31. My shoe collection only contains one pair of heels.
32. My most common illness is strep throat. I used to get it probably 5 times a year. Now it’s closer to 2 times a year.
33. In fact, the reason I’m writing this list right now is because I have strep again and I’m looking for something to do.
34. I got a 4.0 in High School.
35. Math is my hardest subject. Numbers just don’t make any sense in my head.
36. I rely heavily on my cell phone’s calculator.
37. I played the flute for 5 years.
38. I am not very coordinated or athletic. But I was in marching band, and I considered that a sport.
39. I am CRLA tutor certified.
40. It’s hard for me to justify spending money. So I don’t really like shopping very much.
41. Although, it’s growing on me. I had some roommates who got me a little more into the whole shopping thing.
42. I’m the oldest of five kids. One sister, three brothers. My youngest brother is 15 years younger than me.
43. I took one year of formal piano lessons, and taught myself the rest.
44. There was one semester at school where I had four piano callings at the same time.
45. I really wish I knew how to sew better, but every time I try it I get too impatient to enjoy it.
46. I do, though, love cooking, and I’m getting better at that every day.
47. My favorite books are Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.
48. I have a quirky rebellious streak. I’ve never done anything outrageous because of it; mostly I just do the opposite of what I’m told, and if anyone tells me I can’t do something, I prove them wrong.
49. I got my rebellious streak from my mom, and before we got married, my dad pulled Kent aside and warned him specifically about it.
50. I like pie better than cake.
51. My left arm has been broken twice. The first time, I fell off a swing set. The second time, I fell off a slide.
52. My oldest brother, Josh, blames himself for both of my arm-breakings. But they weren’t really his fault. He just played a key role in the incidents. The problem was my lack of coordination.
53. I know how to move sprinkler pipe, and I did it every summer for my Grandpa.
54. I enjoy moving sprinkler pipes, but I really hate mowing the lawn.
55. And vacuuming. I guess it’s something about the back and forth motions and trying to cover every inch of ground that gets to me.
56. My favorite household chore is washing walls.
57. Moving stresses me out a lot.
58. I have had 13 teeth pulled and I had to be put under every time.
59. The thing I worry about most is my health and the health of the people I love.
60. And I’m really good at worrying. I’m trying to not worry so much. Any ideas how?
61. I’ve learned two things about where I want to live (or don’t want to) someday. #1. Rexburg is way too cold in the winter. #2. San Antonio is way too hot in the summer.
62. I want to have at least four kids.
63. My parents live next-door to my mom’s parents. Our other next-door neighbor is my mom’s sister. All of my mom’s five siblings live within 10 miles of each other. And most of their children’s families do, too.
64. I don’t have a single cousin my age.
65. I was very bossy as a child. The only person who I really liked to play with was my grandpa, because I knew he would do exactly what I wanted him to.
66. When I was about 5, I had a Sesame Street play mat with characters you could place on it, and to “play” with it, I would just place them in the exact same spot every time. It drove my mom crazy because I’d want her to “play” with me.
67. The weird thing is, I did that so often that I still remember where every single character went on the mat.
68. My favorite kind of cereal is honey nut cheerios with bananas sliced in it.
69. I don’t like eating carrots plain (raw or cooked). I’ve tried to like them, but I just can’t.
70. I also don’t like olives.
71. But I’m pretty good at eating everything else.
72. My favorite musicians are Josh Groban and Michael Buble.
73. My fist kiss was on Valentine’s Day when I was 19. With Kent, in his car after a date.
74. We ate apple pie after our first kiss.
75. I have never had my hair permed or dyed. Just highlights.
76. I love ocean beaches. It just makes me so happy.
77. I’m horrible at it, but I love surfing. And when I say horrible I mean really, really bad. But I can see why people leave their lives to become surfer dudes. It’s wonderful.
78. I’ve been scuba diving.
79. I have seen the wettest place on earth, where the average amount of rain is 486 inches a year. That’s forty and a half feet of rain.
80. I have never been on a train.
81. One of my very favorite real-life stories is about my little brother and the ‘magic string.’ I’ll have to tell you the story sometime.
82. Two years ago, I had an owl fly through my window while I was driving and hit me in the head.
83. I found out that it’s really hard to find someone late at night to tell you what to do with an injured owl in the backseat of your car.
84. I’ve also had a tree fall on my car while I was driving.
85. Kent and I met in our student singles ward, at a “sweet swap” apartment meeting on a Sunday night. Singles’ wards really do work.
86. I want to take a ballroom dance class.
87. If I could pick one talent to gain, it would be painting.
88. My favorite temporal possession is the bookcase my Grandpa Murray made for me.
89. I have a hard time remembering exactly what date in December we were married. And it’s only been six months! For some reason, I always want to say it was the 12th.
90. Kent and I were married on December 18, 2007. At least, I think that was the date.
91. I had long hair all my life, then after we got married I cut it shorter, and I like it better.
92. I’m always at least 10 minutes early to Church on Sundays. That’s thanks to my Dad’s training.
93. I’m usually either right on time or a teeny bit late to everything else.
94. I have a 3.958 GPA right now at BYU-Idaho.
95. I spent nine days in a row during the summer of ’06 not getting home until 3 am. My parents trusted the friends I was with, and I didn’t have a curfew since I was out of High School, and we had a ton of fun that week (and didn’t do anything dangerous or unlawful. They really were trustworthy friends).
96. Now, Kent and I go to bed by 10 every night, and I can’t imagine doing something like that again.
97. I don’t have a particular favorite movie, but I am very picky about movies and there aren’t many that I like.
98. I feel so lucky that we have families that love and support us.
99. I have an adorable husband who I can’t say enough good about and who I love with all my heart.
100. I’m grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Keepin' it real

This is one of the coolest tags I've seen. Shannon tagged me and I jumped up to take pictures right away.

You have to take pictures of the following ten things. But you can't do any prepping, primping, or picking up. The point is to see how things are in real life.

1. My fridge:
Lots of fresh fruit, a huge case of yogurt from Costco, and three bottles of Batter Blaster to make pancakes whenever we want. Oh, and the water jug is essential. It has been 95-107 degrees since we got here.
2. The kitchen sink: I was actually surprised to see that it was empty. Kent did the dishes without me even knowing about it. What a sweetie.
3. What my kids are doing right now:
I don't have kids, but sometimes Kent counts as one. He's sitting in the bedroom at the computer (right before I kicked him off to do this post), eating a bowl of cereal, and singing a song he's making up about Zimbabwe.

4. My closet: Kind of chaotic. But then again, we did just move in. Of course, that's no guarantee that it is going to get any cleaner.
5. Our toilet: Here it is. It looks like I need to take the trash out. But do I really want to go out into the heat?? I'll have to think about it.
6. My favorite room: I like the dining area because of my fresh flowers and the cute tablecloth and basket.

7: My laundry pile: The laundry pile really isn't that bad, considering that this empty area is where our rented washer and dryer are not yet. We get them tomorrow.
8. My favorite shoes: I love these flip-flops that Teresa got me for my birthday. It's SO hot here, and I'm not about to wear shoes if I can avoid it. These flip-flops are so comfy and cute. 9. A self-portrait: My hair is post-nap wild, but I love the earrings I'm wearing for the first time. 10. My dream vacation: I am dying to go back to my uncle's condos in Hawaii. To see why I love them, go here.

Tag: Kayla, Megan, and Julie