1. Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
2. Fresh Sugar Lemon Perfume
3. Le Crueset 5 1/2 qt Round French Oven
4. Flip Ultra HD High-Definition Digital Camcorder 
5. A honeymoon :)
Now I just need Karl to actually read my blog
I think I have successfully dodged the bullet called swine flu. Karl and my step-sis Tracy, (who is staying with us) both got the swine. Tracy got sick Thursday night, trip to the ER confirmed swine flu. They gave her Tamiflu and she was pretty much better the next day. Karl got sick Friday night, waited until Sunday to go to the ER. Figured they would give us Tamiflu, nope nada. He had to request a prescription for cough syrup which they gave us - about 3 tablespoons worth. They did offer to give him Lortab though. Um ok, you'll give him Lortab but not Tamiflu? I know you might get some body aches but come on, Lortab? That seems weird to me. Stingy with the cough syrup but pushing the Lortab?
So anywho, after being around Tracy, and then taking care of Karl all weekend I'm still not sick! Keeping my fingers crossed. Karl & I did get the swine vaccine on Friday but I thought that it might have been too late and I was already infected since Karl ended up getting sick. I'm going to attribute my healthiness to the green smoothies. One green smoothie every day kept the swine flu away!
This is the best lasagna recipe I've ever made. Granted I've only ever made one other lasagna recipe this is still a winner. Karl loves pasta dishes and requested lasagna a couple months ago. I made a lasagna and it was ok, nothing great but of course Karl ate it up, he's not picky. I came across this recipe online and decided to give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. I mean I'm not a fan of Italian food, I'd rather have Mexican any day, but this was really good!
cover 'em in cheese
Mmmmm......cheesy & gooey!
I've been wanting a Vitamix for the past month or so. They're $450 though and there's no way Karl was letting me spend that on a blender (even though they are so much more than that and WAY better than any normal blender!) So I was going to secretly start hoarding some money so he couldn't say no if I had already saved up for it. Well, I went to Costco to go shopping for the hunting trip and guess what was on demo?? It was like a sign from God. I stood there and watched, listened, tasted, and then drooled over the Vitamix. I immediately texted Karl and sent him a picture of my green smoothie sample. He called me and after some negotiating I got the green light. I mean it was only $400 at Costco, how could you say no to that great deal?! The catch is he is making me find $400 worth of stuff in our house to sell. Ya, I'm still working on that, $85 down so far.
Anywhoo, Vitamix is the coolest thing ever. I've been drinking green smoothies for breakfast every morning and they are delicious! I have a bunch of recipes but they're mainly 2 cups of spinach mixed with some other fruit and veggies like grapes, pineapple, carrots, oranges, apples, bananas, etc. I also made us some awesome pina colada's. Seriously if you have a hard time getting your fruits and vegetables for the day, this is the way to go!
My first green smoothie
Smooth, creamy, green deliciousness!Karl didn't have any luck this year, I think he's pretty bummed about it. Oh well though, we had a good time and it was awesome weather. Karl's twin brother Alan and his son Connor, and their dad Barry came down to our neck of the woods this year. It was fun showing them around our hunting grounds. I don't think Karl believed all the stories my dad told him about hunting in the area. That's because every quarter mile or so my dad would have to tell the story of how he shot a deer (or 2 or 3 or 4) right there. Oh, and I actually saw more Moose than I did bucks so that was cool.
Karl likes to hike his ass off, so this is at the very bottom of a huge canyon.
Here is Karl teaching Connor how to shoot the bb gun
Connor lost a tooth
My dad contemplating where the deer are hiding
The moose pictures are kind of crappy because I was trying to hurry.
There were 3 moose but I only took pictures of the big bull
Steph was such a wimp and was on the 4 wheeler behind me and my dad. She stayed way far behind as soon as she spotted the moose right off the side of the road because she didn't want to get charged or trampled to death (even though she had a gun)
Chris got a deer (I'll blog about it Steph since you haven't yet!). My dad and Steph actually saw it first thing opening morning. It was missing half of its horns so they didn't shoot it. Chris came along right behind them on the 4 wheeler and took it out . He don't discriminate.
Dad & Steph
Dad & I
Dad, me & Karl
Alan, Barry, Karl & Connor
I just started watching Glee and I wish I wouldn't have waited so long before finally watching it. I love it and I need to catch up on all of the older episodes.
This is not okay. How have I never heard of this before?! Am I the only one that hasn't heard of it? It is horrible! Below is some info I found via the website http://www.greatgarbagepatch.org/
Much of our waste today is comprised of plastic that does not biodegrade. This waste accumulates in swirling seas of debris, where plastic to sea life ratios are 6:1; where birds and mammals are dying of starvation and dehydration with bellies full of plastics; where fish are ingesting toxins at such a rate that soon they will no longer be safe to eat.
The largest of these garbage swills is known as the Pacific Gyre, or The Great Garbage Patch.
It is roughly the size of Texas, containing approximately 3.5 million tons of trash. Shoes, toys, bags, pacifiers, wrappers, toothbrushes, and bottles too numerous to count are only part of what can be found in this accidental dump floating midway between Hawaii and San Francisco.
Amazingly, there is no effort underway to clean the mess. Explore this web site to learn more, but most importantly - join the movement to address this problem!
I've been wanting to make this cake for awhile so I decided to bake it for my birthday. It's a white cake with blackberries and buttercream frosting. It was so good. I took it to work and my piggy coworkers ate it up in like 15 minutes!
It's the paddle attachment for my kitchen aid mixer but it has rubbery sides on it kind of like windshield wipers. You never have to wipe down the sides of the bowl! Best idea ever!
I can't, NOT talk about it any more!
I. AM. SO. MAD!
This is why.
I'm not going to get into it (too much) because I could go on and on, but I feel like I need to say something.
I was a Chi Omega at USU. I met my best friends there and it was THE funnest time of my life. Joining Chi Omega was one of the best decisions I've ever made. The Greek system ALWAYS gets a bad rap. It's too bad because the amount of good that comes from their fund-raising, volunteering, and overall participation at the university and in the community is amazing. Sigma Nu and Chi Omega are now gone at USU.
Do football teams or basketball teams/programs ever get pulled because some one on the team rapes or sexually assaults someone? Nope. How about when they are involved in selling and/or taking drugs? Nope. When they get in fights, are charged with assault, or when they participate in any illegal activity? Nope. Athletes are constantly in trouble with the law, but the whole team or program doesn't get punished for it.
Ok, but this really isn't about how Chi Omega should not have been closed (but it shouldn't have). Anywhoo, some people have been punished and that's fine (not that I agree with that either) but now they're suing the university? I guess we all knew it was coming because money makes everything ok, right? NO! THIS IS WRONG ! They have already successfully transferred the blame onto the other students, and that wasn't enough? This was an adult and he made the decisions that led to his untimely death. It's sad that the family cannot move on with their lives but instead blatantly refuse to accept the situation for what it is. Someone must be held accountable, someone must be to blame, right? The Starks family has lost all credibility in my book. Now it's just a matter of cashing in on their son's death and to me that's just as sad as the death itself. Even though I haven't agreed with the way any of this has played out, I still had some sympathy for the family. Not anymore, not after reading this: The couple is seeking an undisclosed amount of money to help them recoup medical and funeral costs. They also want money they believe their son was entitled to before his death. What money was he entitled to by the university before his death?
Midway is beautiful, I want to live there someday
*swoon*...........I love my dress
My personal make-up arteeest
Suck it in!
My absolutely gorgeous bouquet
This was on the elevator, I can't remember what he was saying
I'm not quite sure what Bax said or did to cause me to make that face, but you never know with Bax
Ok, places everyone! It's showtime!
