And now she is wearing...

The outfit I wore yesterday (that was sitting on my floor)

This is what Sam wants to wear today...

Her Christmas apron

Spring Break Days 3 & 4 + New Recipes

To finish up Nic's spring break we did a quick overnight trip to Brigham City. It was so much fun to get away.

Our first stop was at the Maddox, one of our favorite restaurants!!

Best rolls and corn bread in the world!

 Sam loved the huge tub in our hotel room

 We had the swimming pool all to ourselves.

 We all loved the big comfy bed!

 Easiest French Dip Sandwiches:

1lb Thin Sliced Deli Roast Beef

(2) 1oz McCormick Au Jus

1 McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning Packet

Swiss Cheese

Make Au Jus packet as directed on back. Divide roast beef into 4 portions. Use tongs to dip roast beef into warm au jus sauce. Place roast beef inside roll and sprinkle with 1 tsp steak seasoning (loved that flavor). Sprinkle with cheese and place under broiler until cheese melts. Serve with left over au jus. Serves 4.

Biggest cupcake request so far...96!

 Latest cupcake creation (at Nic's request). Almond Joy Cupcakes..chocolate cupcake, coconut buttercream frosting, toasted coconut (thanks Jen) and half an almond joy on top.

Spring Break: Day 2

We had another fun evening together. We went to the Bountiful Pond and fed the ducks. It was so nice to be out in the sunshine after a day of snow. I have a lot of pictures because it was so gorgeous!

Spring Break: Day 1

This week is Nic's last Spring Break! That seems so weird to say. In the 7 years that I have known him he has always been in school. Although he still has to work, go to his internship, and have school meetings this week..HE DOESN'T HAVE NIGHT CLASSES!! We are taking advantage of our evenings together.

Spring Break, Day 1: Utah Baseball game. It was fun and cold! 

 Then we had one of my favorite meals: Turkey Club Sandwich & a Peanut Butter Chocolate cookie from Cutlers. YUMMY!

Mickey Mouse Cake

Starting the outlining

 

Black is finished

 Completed Mickey Mouse:

This was the first star tip decorating I have tried. It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. One thing I hated about this was the taste of the black frosting. Usually the Wilton Flavoring is pretty good at being tasteless, but this black was bitter in my opinion. Looking at this picture I can see more errors than I could see when I made it. Oh well, I am still learning.

Delicious, Easy, Healthy

Chicken Primavara Pasta
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
3 cups frozen vegetables (I used California blend)
1 tub/10 oz Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme
2 cups hot cooked fettuccine ( I used 8oz of Angel Hair)

1. Cook and stir chicken in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 5 to 6 min. or until done. Add vegetables; cook 2 to 3 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.
2. Add cooking creme; cook and stir 3 min.
3. Stir in pasta.

This recipe makes 4 servings. Each serving is under 500 calories.

More Sam Pictures

I love that I can finally do fun things with Sam's hair!

She is so much fun to watch play. Her new thing that she does all of the time is tuck her babydolls and toys into bed and cover them up.

She also includes a kiss goodnight! Isn't that adorable?

I took Sam to the Rockin E County Store to look at the baby chicks for Easter. She was so obsessed with riding this horse. It is only a dime to ride so lucky she got to do it a few times.

I have a bunch of random pictures to blog, so here you go!

Sam and her cousin/BFF taking a bath

Chicken Finger Salads

Nic and I kind of invented this great new salad. It has:

Salad of course

Corn

Cheddar Cheese

Tortilla Strips

Bacon Bits

Ranch Dressing & BBQ Sauce

A chicken tender cut up on top

And Nic also adds: Baby Carrots, Green Peppers & Salsa

It is so good (and under 700 calories).

Spring Cupcakes:

What's For Dinner?

As you know, I have been trying a lot of new dinner recipes. Today's meal was simple and easy, but we liked it. We had Meatloaf (McCormick Packet/Seasoning), Spicy Ranch Potatoes (I took a packet of Hidden Valley Spicy Ranch Dressing Mix and added it to a 1/2 cup of milk and poured it over diced potatoes) and green beans. The whole meal is only 639 calories!

Book Club

All of my sisters love to read. Growing up I don't remember reading a single book for pleasure. As I have gotten older and started a real thirst for knowledge on several different subjects, I have found that reading can be quite enjoyable. I decided that forming a book club would be a great way to help me read a variety of books that I wouldn't normally choose to read. I wanted the book club to consist of women that I am very close to and would appreciate hearing their opinions. It has turned out to be a wonderful little club with people I care very much about. If you live close to me and want to be a part of it let me know :)

Here is a list of the books that we have read so far (with my quick opinion):

• Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (Loved it)
• The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr (Loved It)
• 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult (Liked It, but lots of language)
• Woman In White by Wilkie Collins (Didn't finish it, but everyone else liked it)
• Emma by Jane Austen (It was ok)
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (Didn't like it)
• The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe (Liked it)
• 1776 by David Mccullough (Hard to get into)
• Christmas Miracles by a collection of authors (Hated most of it, a couple good stories)
• Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Loved It)
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (Loved It)
• Fablehaven by Brandon Mull (Loved It)

 I know I am forgetting some, sorry! If you want more recommendations on any of them let me know.

This Month: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman.

Spring Fever Anyone?

Today I am day dreaming of camping, spring dresses, picnics, flipflops, sunshine, flowers. How about you?

Sunset last night...

Owl Sighting

You know I am a wildlife lover. Seeing an owl in the wild has been on my list for a long time. Last night Nic and I were driving home and one swooped right in front of our car. It flew over our car for several seconds and it was beautiful to observe. I had no clue what kind of bird it was at first (Nic identified it for me). When it first appeared I thought it was a seagull because it was so white, but as it got right in front of our headlights you could see how large its wingspan was. It perched on a post and of course we pulled over to observe it for awhile. It was so neat to see. Now, I am tyring to identify what species it was. It was very white on the underneath, similar to the picture above. It had dark plumage on it's shoulders and tail. No "ears" sticking up, just a round face. From what I can gather I am guessing it is a barn owl. I will keep researching!

What a morning!

So, about 15 minutes ago Sam and I were just watching TV when I heard a way loud noise. I thought it was thunder (because it's raining). I start to hear emergency vehicles, so I decided to look outside.

This is what I saw...

 A semitruck ran into our freeway retaining wall

 Lifeflight right over our heads

 My driveway

News vans starting to show up.

I hope the driver is ok!

This is the other side of the wall (picture on the KSL.com)