Thanks for the Memories!!!

I was reminiscing last night about all the wonderful memories I have of my parents. I don't know why but lately that seems to be what I think about when I think about home. So here goes!!!!

1. My earliest memory is when I was a little girl being chased around the house by my mom who I think was trying to tickle me. Finally she caught me and I can remember giggling like a little mad woman.

2. I remember rocking with my Dad in our rocking chair listening to rock music. Everytime I hear Elton John or John Denver I think of rocking with my Dad in the rocking chair wrapped up in my blankey.

3. I remember multiple times where my mom would break into dance and dance with me in the kitchen, it never failed it would always make me laugh.

4. The memory of picking up my Dad from work and jamming out to the Black Eyed Peas.... awesome.

5. When I was a teenager and super depressed my mom decorated and cleaned my room for me complete with butterfly net, Christmas lights and awesomeness.

6. One year I got this awesome pair of jeans from Santa aka Mom and Dad. They had flowers on the bottom and were one of the first pairs of "flares" I had. My Mom told me that my Dad picked them out for me. I thought that it was so cool that my Dad picked them out. I remember I wore them pretty much everyday and they made me feel like I fit in with the other girls at school. Thanks Dad!!!!

7. Making fun of all the girls who bullied me at school with my Mom in the car! You know you and your Mom did it too!!!!

8.When I got married my Dad congratulated me and was crying I could tell he was so proud of me for getting married in the temple. I think that was one of the only times if not the first time I saw him cry.

These are some of the memories I have, of course there are many many more. But these always put a smile on my face when I am feeling down, homesick, or reminiscent. I thought it was fitting to put something like this up in light of the holiday season. What are you grateful for? For me it's these memories and many more and hopefully more to come!

Bock bock buck bock! Love that chicken salad!

Tonight we wanted something yummy and Kevin and I thought chicken salad sounded yummy. The only thing is, is the thought of drenching chicken in mayo and adding a few seasonings didn't sound so good. My solution was this:

1 can of canned chicken thoroughly drained
1/3-1/2 C. plain greek style yogurt
half an onion finely chopped
1/3 C. chopped grapes
1/3 C. chopped apples
1/2 tablespoon of spicy brown mustard
garlic salt
pepper
paprika
onion powder
a few slices of your favorite bread (we picked up a loaf of Italian everything bread, and it was scrumptious)
a few slices of your favorite cheese (we used muenster)

Basically mix everything together and season to taste! I broiled the bread with the cheese slices on it for a couple of minutes to get the cheese nice and bubbly and toast up the bread a little. It was so good! A very light alternative to most chicken salad recipes. I will totally have the left overs for lunch tomorrow. Some other tasty add-ins would be chopped tomatoes, avocado, mandarin oranges, celery (especially if you are not an onion person this would give a nice crunch), chopped pickles, craisins, shredded carrots and if you were feeling naughty you could add some bacon bits. The nice thing was, it took maybe fifteen minutes to make! Next time I think I will make up some sweet potato fries to go with it... but alas I am too full to even think about that right now so on to last nights dinner which was also a success although, I am not sure how healthy it was. Oh well! So far Kevin has had three sandwiches tonight...

Stuffed Chicken Breast Cluckity Cluck!

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts thawed and then pounded thin ( make sure it is the same thickness throughout so that it cooks evenly)

Filling

one small can of olives finely chopped (set half aside for marinade)
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1/4 C. part skim ricotta cheese
Italian herbs season to taste
a few pinches of Parmesan or mixed Italian cheese (we used the mixed cheese it has Mozzarella, Parmesan, Asiago, and Fontina... the store brand is like two dollars for a small bag)
The juice of half a lemon or if it is small one lemon
Mix together and set aside.

Marinade
In a plastic bag combine
4 Tablespoons olive oil
Olives from filling
Juice of one lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 clove of garlic
Italian herbs to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350

After mixing the filling and prepping the marinade set them aside. Pound the chicken to the same thickness I think when I made this I pounded it to about one inch thickness. I then cut the pieces in half although if you wanted to be technical about it you could butterfly your chicken for the filling but cutting in half worked fine for me I just cooked it a bit longer. After preparing the chicken (cluckity! cluck!) go ahead and zip it up tight in the bag with the marinade and toss it around to coat the chicken. Leave it in the marinade for as long as you wish... I left it in for about 20 mins while I prepped everything else but I am sure you could leave it for longer. When you are ready to cook the chicken line a baking sheet with parchment place one half of one of the chicken breasts down on the parchment and spread a good sized spoonful of the cheese mixture down. Cover with other chicken breast, if you need to place a toothpick through the middle to keep them together. Repeat with other chicken breast. Cook in the oven until juices run clear and cheese is nice and bubbly. While cooking wrap 6-10 cloves of garlic in foil with a drizzle of olive oil and let it roast while the chicken is cooking. Check after about fifteen minutes if the garlic is soft and a little caramelized on the out side you can take it out, mash it and add it to mashed potatoes for a nice punch of flavor. Or you can add it with your favorite herbs, butter, some Salt and Pepper for a spread to put on french bread. Anyways, it took me about 45 minutes for the chicken to cook through and about 15 minutes of prep. So yummy! Both of us licked our plates clean. Some other add-ins for the filling or marinade would be pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and fried prosciutto.

"Whatever."

Well as you all know now, Texas has been treating us well. That is, until I went to the stupid DMV. Yes, yes I know everyone has horror stories about the DMV and I am sure that this one is not that bad...but still it happened to me and it felt bad. Sooooooo, I have been trying to get my TX drivers license and on Friday I thought I had all the paper work I needed. As some of you may know we purchased a new car the week we moved here so that Kevin could commute to work. When we bought the car we signed a lot of paperwork as one does when they buy a car and part of that process was spent transferring the registration to our name. Our lender said we would get it in the mail but we haven't and I needed proof to get my license. So knowing that I needed it, I called and talked to our lender. She said to just take in the paperwork we had and that the DMV would take it. Well I should have better checked the paperwork because they didn't. She did say that she would email me a backup just in case they didn't which in fact was what I needed in the first place. So trusting our ever-friendly lender I went on my merry little way to our local cheery DMV. This is also after having had to get my passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate, and my new social security number. Thinking I was good to go, I made light of having to stand in line by making the run-of-the-mill chitchat with the people in line saying, "oh yes it is my third time here in a week, but I think I am finally going to get my license!" Oh how the joy was short-lived. I got up to the counter and here is the conversation from there on:

Over made-up lady drinking out of a Wendy's cup: Hello.

Me: Hello!

Over made-up lady drinking out of a Wendy's cup: What do you need today?

Me: I need to get my license changed to a TX license.

Over made-up lady drinking out of a Wendy's cup: Did you fill out the application?

Me: Yes I did here it is.

Over made-up lady drinking out of a Wendy's cup: Okay.... do you have a TX vehicle?

Me: Yes I do.



Over made-up lady drinking out of a Wendy's cup: It says here that you don't. (Looks at me like I am a filthy liar) You checked the "no" box.

Me: That's an easy fix, let's recheck yes then. (starting to get annoyed mostly cause she gave me a salty look)



Over made-up lady drinking out of a Wendy's cup: Well do you have your registration?

Me: Yes, I think so. My lender gave me this packet when we purchased the car, she said that the paperwork in here should work fine temporarily, we haven't received the new registration in the mail yet.



Over made-up lady drinking out of a Wendy's cup: Ma'am I need your registration.

Me: There should be something in here. I have been here three times already I am sick of being here. (Don't be quick to judge me, she wasn't very nice, kept glaring and tisking and the like... had a very salty attitude)



Over made-up lady drinking out of a Wendy's cup: Ma'am I am trying to help you. ( More like when do I get to go home? I hate my job.)

Me: Okay, then help me.



Over made-up lady drinking out of a Wendy's cup: Talks to here superior or co-worker about situation.

Her co-worker hating her job: Do you have your registration?

Me: My lender told me that this should work, if the registration is not in there then I don't have it.

Her co-worker who hates her job: It looks like you filled the application out wrong...


Me: (EXTREMELY ANNOYED BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IT WAS ACCIDENTALLY CHECKED NO) Well then take a pen and check yes. I talked to the lady outside and she told me what to bring she asked me the first time I was here if we had a car and I told her we did. Maybe she looked over the paperwork wrong when I checked in.

Her co-worker who hates her job: Well you would have known to bring in your registration had you checked this off right...

Me: (VERY ANGRY) Ya'll need to work on a better system!

Her stupid co-worker who hates her job: Well if you would have filled it out right...

Me: Regardless of weather or not I checked the stupid box, she verbally asked me if I had a car and I said yes. She said "Do you have a car?" I said, "Yes I do." She went through my paperwork, I have been here three times if it wasn't right why didn't she say anything?

Her stupid co-worker who hates her job: Well this is why we have an application...

Me: Well, Ya'll need to work on your system!

Her stupid co-worker who hates her job: Well you should have filled out the application right.

Me giving her the hand (not the finger) and walking out suddenly: Whatever.

So, ok, I didn't fill out the paperwork right and I don't care that I have to bring in my registration but please get over the fact that I didn't check yes on the paper work. Then check yes! For heavens sake! To say the least I was very upset not only was this the third time going there in a week. It was also the second time I stood in a long line only to get turned away. The first time it was because they don't take debit cards only cash or check and that was after a twenty minute line. So here is the funny text I sent Kevin when I got home....



So still wasn't able to get my stupid license.
Shona told me that I should be able to bring in
the paperwork from when we bought our car.
So I did but they were like, "We will not do a darn
thing till we have your registration. And besides you
marked your application that you don't have a car."
I was like well then give me a pen and I will mark that
I do. That was a mistake. Well they told me I should
have marked the application that I do have a car. I was like
well regardless I still need the right paperwork. Anyways, I want
freaking scream obscenities at them and then bomb the stupid
crap hole.


Ahh, needless to say, I was a little upset. Notice the lack of punctuation and proper sentence formation. Also, note, the mounting frustration and eventually the conclusion that solving the problem would be screaming swear words at them and then bombing the facility. Which, I would never do. I didn't voice this in the text but I also wanted to yell really cheap insults at them as I left. Like "You should wash your face, your make-up is blinding me as we speak." or "You must hate your job, sitting here all day, not doing much for your own life but making others miserable." Or what I thought the most about the whole application debate. "Well if it makes you feel better about yourself get off your butt, put down your processed sugary drink, and get a pen and mark it yes! We're not getting any younger here, especially you." But I did refrain. No, all I did was give them the talk-to-the-hand sign and say with no expression whatsoever, "whatever".

Howdy Y'all.... a little late

Hey everyone! So it has been a LOOOONNNNGGG while since I have blogged and now that we have the internet hopefully I will be a more regular blogster. But so far Texas has been treating us wonderfully. I really do love it here despite the heat and the lack of mountains. Kevin's job is going really well and I currently work as an assistant teacher in the toddler class at a Montessori school. It has been a lot of fun and I really enjoy working with the little ones, although I am not sure it is doing much as far as making me want children of my own...tee hee....but at least I know how to potty train and change a poopy diaper. In church news, I was called to be the first counselor in the young women's and Kevin was made the young men's president. We have a very diverse ward with many needs so the callings do take up a lot of personal time but it is very fun and we are grateful that heavenly father has entrusted us with caring for his youth. We are helping set up the seminary program and we will see how that goes as the year goes on. I have three young women and Kevin has six young men so it is a small youth group but the group is very strong. I don't know what else to say!!! The summer has flown by and I am ready for some cooler weather. The last week the temperatures soared above the three digits with the heat index some days were at 110 degrees with like fifty percent humidity or something like that. I do like that my hair and skin is so soft and I rarely put lotion on... one nice thing with the humidity. We are so blessed, I know that Heavenly Father has big plans for us here. Hopefully I will get some new pics up! Until then, hello to all! We love you!

One week and counting!!!

Well the end is here, Kevin graduates tomorrow!!! I am so excited for him! One more week and we are out of here! We are a little nervous and a little excited! We are really excited to live in a good size apartment. Although I will miss our landlords who have become our good friends. Anyways, yesterday was my last day at work and it was so tender. The little kids were so sweet. I know it sounds cheesy but one of the best ways (i think) to feel Heavenly Father's love is to work and be around little children and I am sure I will understand more when I have my own but you can just look in their faces and see how much potential is there. You see what Heavenly Father sees in all his children, pure potential. They were a privilege to work with. When I got into the classroom the teacher I work with had me sit in the front of the room while each kid said something nice about me. When it got to one of my favorites (she struggles a lot in school but has such a sweet spirit) she looked at me and in her silly way said, "I LOVE YOU!" and I almost lost it. Especially with her, because she has some issues that make it harder for her to get along with other kids and progress academically, I can see the love of Heavenly Father. It was the funnest job ever! I loved it! Don't even get me going on how fun the staff was! They were great to work with!

Anyways it had been a week or so since I blogged about our spring break here are some pictures of that adventure. It was so fun! I just can't get over how fun Disney Land was!!! I wish Texas had a Disneyland! That would be AWESOME! There are also some Easter pics too, check out my cutie-pa-tootie lil sister!

Hi ho, hi ho it's off to work I go! OR NOT!!! BAHAHA!!

Hello all!!! Today I was talking to Kevin and I think the move is starting to become real. Oh man! It is exciting to think we will be starting roots together!! YAY!! I know I say this time and time again but as Kev and I were talking we kept saying that it was as if the Lord is eager for us to move. First he prompted us three months after we were married that Dallas was the place, next he provided Kevin with his job, and then the Lord looked at our bank account and helped us a little there because heaven knows we needed it. It's like he is pushing us there! We are so blessed and so excited to be able to serve him from Texas. We talked to our future bishop today who I happened to call randomly a couple months ago to see what areas would be good to live. He was so nice and seemed really excited to have us in the ward. Also I ONLY HAVE THREE DAYS LEFT OF WORK!!!! YAHOO!!!!!!!!!! This is actually more bittersweet than I am making it sound. Mostly I am excited to not have to get up early and to finally pack. This was one of my favorite jobs. Working there was so fun and rewarding and I worked with some amazing people!!! The next two weeks will go by fast I know it. Am I excited? Yes. Am I nervous for what lays ahead? Yes.

Spring Break!!!!

Well I am writing this a little late but oh well. Last week was spring break and it was pretty amazing I have to say. Since I work for the school district I got the whole week off and my wonderful husband surprised me with a trip to Denver for a couple of days before we headed off to California. Denver was so fun! It was so nice to be with my family. We ate food, watched movies, played wii and of course did a little shopping. I am especially glad that I got to be with them a little before Kevin and I take off for Texas... which is in a couple weeks! EEEK!!! The day after I got back from Denver, Kevin and I set off for California. It was fantastic! The weather was great and there were palm trees! I love palm trees! We got to the beach a little bit late in the evening so it was pretty chilly but still beautiful. The next day we finally got to use our free Disneyland passes!!! WOO HOO! Amazing. It was my first time and I loved it. I didn't really care for Pirates but I loved Space Mountain and Indiana Jones. The weather was pretty nice that day which made up for the crowds and I was in good company so I didn't mind having to wait in line. The cutest ride there (I think) was the Haunted Mansion. So cute! and the effects were pretty cool. I don't care if I sound like a geek. It was so whimsical. The actors dressed up as the Disney characters seemed to weird me out at first. I didn't know what to think. But seeing all the little kids get excited was pretty cute. On Friday we went to Hollywood, but took a more round about way by taking the pacific coast highway. It was so beautiful one of the most scenic rides I have been on. We stopped in Malibu to get a picture and I can't believe people live the way they do in houses that big, in a place that pretty... I am sure there are prettier places though and bigger houses too somewhere. Hollywood was okay. We didn't have much time but we made the most of it by getting some tasty ice cream and people watching.
As for now, we are counting down the days for the big move. Trying to get things in order. I don't know how I feel. I am really excited that we will be so close to the temple and that we will be more in the mission field. I hope that I can immerse myself in the ward and create a little texas ward family for us. At the same time I don't think it has hit that it is a permanent move!!! I am sure it will hit when we get down there and I get lost trying to find the grocery store or something. Then it will be like "wow, your not in Provo anymore." I do know though that we are supposed to go there. I believe that this is where Heavenly Father wants us and that we will progress a lot there. Anyways till the next post!

Easter Time

Today as we were listening to conference and over the past few days really, I have been thinking about what the atonement means to me personally. Before I knew that our savior bled and died for us. I knew that he felt all the pains of the world but I never knew how to apply that to my own life. How to apply the atonement in other areas of my life not just repentance. After much thought I have begun to understand how to do just that. The atonement goes so much farther than just repentance. Christ, understanding and having felt every pain, must know the struggles of everyday life for us. For me personally, it gives me the imagery (okay this is the gospel according to Steffany not necessarily doctrine) that every time I pray and plead and ask for help, every time I tell him how bad something hurts, or how dissapointed I am he comforts me and then jots everything down on a to-be-discussed list. I know that one day I will be able to reconcile any hurt feelings and dissapointments I have had with him and that whatever couldn't be made better in this life will be made better in the next. I know that there will be a day when he explains why things happened the way they did. All I have to be now, is faithful. If there is one thing I know without any doubt it is the love that Heavenly Father has for his children. The love he has for me. I have been so blessed to have seen his hand so closely in my life. Sometimes I think to myself "how on earth did I get here!?!" and I know that it is because of the atonement and the love he has for me. Just a little thought on Easter Sunday.

Home, home on the range!

We may have found our dream mansion!!! We have decided to go with an apartment in Addison about 20 minutes north of downtown Dallas!!! YAY!!! It's a two bedroom, spacious kitchen, over 1000 sq. ft. dream house because I am assuming that the toilet works! YES! We are so excited. The rent is decent and we have been to that area and know that it is nice. So far we only have like four weeks left till we go. I can't tell if I am excited or nervous, both actually. I am looking forward to a new beginning with Kevin. Another update on our toilet situation. It was fixed yesterday and we have been enjoying the spacious freedom of our in-laws we may stay the rest of the week.... maybe :) . Honestly it has been so nice not to worry about a working toilet or having to think of dinner ideas. I know I am so lazy. Next week is spring break too and Kev surprised me with a trip home for the weekend to see my sister and mom!!! Yay! I am planning on making some awesome skirts with my mom and maybe seeing a movie with my sister. So happy. AND THEN..... the day after I get home we are going to California!!! It's basically my first time going there and I am so excited. We did the give a day get a day of Disney thing with Habitat for Humanity and so our passes were free!!!! Great for our budget!

Here we go loop de loop!!!

An update on the bathroom problem. Yup, still a problem. Still flooded, still smells and still disgusting. It flooded again last night just as we were getting ready for bed, and I woke up to the sounds of a bubbling toilet flooding this morning. You win some, you loose some. But anyways, I am excited today because our good friends are getting married, Kevin will be spending the morning doing his parents yard and I GET TO GO SHOPPING!!!!! Woo hoo!!! So hoo ray for not having to spend the day in our stinky apartment.

Just an update on our apartment situation for Dallas. We have none. HA! We are still looking for places to live. Plan A. Is to try to find something before we get down there. Plan B. is if we don't have a place Kev and I will try to find a bishop who can direct us to some members that we can stay with for a couple days while we find something (that way we won't have to pay for a hotel). The hard thing is we really don't have the time or the money to fly down and look at something so we really are relying on the members to help us out. A couple weeks ago our long distance friends who we have never met went to look at a place for us. The Realtor left them waiting for an hour before they called us. They had already driven from Plano! When my husband called the Realtor she said she didn't even know they were waiting or even coming (but we emailed and called her a few times). Anyways.... the place was a dump, food and rust stuck in the dishwasher, loose floorboards, stained carpet, you name it!!! So glad we didn't rent it. Our lives would have been miserable. BUT on the bright side of things, we have been looking at some pretty nice condo type apartments that are really big and come with a lovely garage. Wish us luck! We will need it. I am planning on doing hair in TX. and really excited too because even though I have to get re-certified (only 300 hrs. compared to 800 in Utah) I feel blessed that I will have something to do during the day. It's crazy when you listen to the spirit everything just falls into place. Really!!! We have been so blessed in numerous ways. Kevin got a scholarship that he can use any way he wants, and we got a good size tax return. When we found out about the job I seriously didn't know how in the heck we were going to be able to do it! We were living pay check to pay check as it was. But now we have a little money to help us get there and get started. Now the trick is to just find somewhere to live!!!! Oh man.

The best part of waking up... is not to a flooded bathroom.

Sooo, I decided to blog. We are moving what seems like a zillion miles away from family and I felt like this would be a great way to A. document the move B.Let family see and read up on whats going on, and C. Vent. It's not that I don't want to move, actually, anything is better than where we are living right now. When we were in Colorado I felt pretty proud of our 650 sq.ft. apartment and would clean and declutter it often. Now, I hate the 300 sq. ft. apartment we live in and tend to be a bit lazy when it comes to cleaning it. Oh, don't get me wrong, I will look back a probably smile a little and laugh, and it has been a great experience. We have awesome landlords, a great ward, and are close to campus and family so those have been great blessings BUTTTTTTTTT it is way too small, it's dark, and the toilet floods at least every two months and if it's not the toilet it's the fridge smelling like vomit and old man breath.
Take this morning, Kevin gets out of bed and I hear "UGGGGHHHHHH." He didn't even have to tell me, I knew in my heart of hearts that the bathroom floor was covered in toilet water. I knew it! So we mop it up and text our landlords. Needless to say I was so disgusted by it that it was hard to eat breakfast, and I felt contaminated all day. I must have washed my hands a million times. Did I mention that I left my makeup bag on the floor? Oh yeah, I left my makeup bag on the floor and so now I must buy new makeup. We tried our best to clean up but since he had school and I had work we had to leave it job half done.
Okay, so I get to work, enjoy the free use of a working bathroom there and then come home to find that the problem was not our toilet but the pipes altogether. The laundry room flooded into our bathroom. LAME. I realize now that wherever we go in Texas will be a luxurious place because we probably won't have to deal with old pipes that flood every two months because of root problems and what have you. Song of the day to all you with working plumbing, "Count your many Blessings."