Oh so thankful Tuesdays...5/31

It's Tuesday & today I am beyond thankful for the following:

eleven: Christopher Smeda. I know I've said this one before, but I can't tell you enough how thankful I am for him. Last night I had a breakdown before going to sleep and I was reminded of why I fell in love with him. He has the strongest testimony and he is such an example to me.

twelve: Washer & Dryer. On Sunday we watched the Joseph Smith movie. I realized how thankful I am to have appliances like a washer and dryer. The woman back in those times had it hard. 

thirteen: Good weather. Lately, its been nothing but gloomy rainy days here in Rexburg. Today we finally have sunny warm(er) weather.

fourteen: Chris' job. Without it...we would be in some serious trouble. I was planning on working for the company I worked for in California from home here....but plans changed and I am job-less.

fifteen: TV shows that make you cry. I know...weird thing to be thankful for, but I love TV shows that get me emotional. Last night Extreme Makeover: Weightloss Edition started on ABC and its a really touching show. Watch it, I promise you'll be interested!


Tell me, tell me, tell me....

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday everyone! Today is Memorial Day! Not only is it a day that my hubby gets off from school & work (woo!) but it is also a day for us to reflect and remember all those who have served for this great country and for our freedom!

We LOVE America!

As you know...Friday night is date night at our house. It was Chris' turn to plan this week. At BYU-I they offer dancing classes. Ballroom & Latin dancing. He wanted to go ballroom dancing....ehhhh not my cup of tea. I felt really bad... I knew he really wanted to do it but I was kind of in a bad mood and I wasn't in the mood for it. So instead we went to this $5 pizza place here in Rexburg, came home & watched Grease. All I have to say is Chris is the best husband ever. I haven't been in the best moods lately, and I love him so much especially because he puts up with me!

Saturday night he had the idea to go to the sand dunes & have a bonfire! We got wood, drinks, & candy bars from the gas station :) (candy bars were my idea, of course.) It was a lot of fun and it was nice to spend some quality time with him.

As I was browsing through the craft blogs I stalk regularly, I found this AMAZING idea at Love Actually. Its called a "Bad Day Box." I think I need to make one of these for our house. You can find this idea here.

You can find these boxes at any craft store, cover it with scrapbook paper and its all done! She put a cute poem on the top for her husband, but if you wanted you could just put their name or a cute quote on it.

Here are some ideas she had to put in the box:

- notes of encouragement (for a rough day)

- write the things you love the most about them
- write about a favorite memory you share together
- fun little trinkets/objects that will make them laugh
- If they are really close with their family, ask their mom/dad/siblings to write them a little note to contribute to the box
- their favorite candy/treat

SUCH A CUTE IDEA! 

Who doesn't love FREE?

I'm sure all you crafty ladies have heard of subway art. It's the super cute framed pictures that have about a bazillion words on it. Well, on the dating divas website...they had a post called "spouse subway art."
You can see the post here.

Theres a website, wordle.net, where you can go and enter words & it creates your very own personalized subway art. Here is the picture that was on the dating divas website.

SUPER cute right? It's perfect for a anniversary gift, little side present, or for fathers day!

Go ahead, go to the website and create your very own!!

Bad Luck Baking....

So tonight is a relief society activity for my ward. B.Y.O.B. & D. (bring your own body & dessert.) Growing up I had a friend and her mom made THE BEST brownies in the entire world... from scratch. I figured this would be the perfect opportunity for me to make them. I made them...& they didn't turn out. So I decided on chocolate chip cookies. You cant go wrong with chocolate chip cookies, right? WRONG. Yup, mine didn't turn out.

I guess I have bad luck with baking.

I decided to go with brownies....but this time, out of the box. :)

Whats Cookin' Wednesdays; Chicken Lo Mein

On the menu for tonight: Chicken Lo Mein
Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients: 
-1/2 lb angel hair pasta
-3 tbsp hoisin sauce
-1/4 c chicken broth
-2 tbsp soy sauce
-2 tsp toasted sesame oil
-1 tsp cornstarch
-2 tbsp vegetable oil
-1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
-1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
-4 to 5 shiitake mushroom caps, thinly sliced
-1/2 c thinly sliced carrots
-1 c broccoli florets
-1 c sugar snap pea pods, halved
-1 (15 oz) can chinese baby corn, drained & cut in thirds
-1 to 1 1/4 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite size strips

1) Cook the noodles according to the package directions until just tender. Drain water. Rinse noodles with cold water, drain well & set aside.
2) In a small bowl, mix hoisin sauce, chicken broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Set sauce aside.
3) Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the ginger for 30 seconds. Add onion and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and carrots and stir-fry for 2 minutes more. Finally, add broccoli, pea pods and corn. Stir-fry the vegetables for 2 more min then transfer them to a plate.
4) Heat remaining tbsp of oil in the pan. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink.
5) Turn heat down to medium and add vegetables. Using two spatulas or wooden spoons, lightly toss the mixture until heated through.


& Enjoy! Yummmmmmy right???

Oh so thankful Tuesdays...5/24

Its that time again. Its Tuesday!!


six: Family. I love knowing that no matter what happens, I will always have my family there. Families are forever.

seven: The Gospel. Without it I wouldn't know who I was. It has made me who I am today.

eight: Coupons. I started couponing & I am SO excited to see how much money we can save. Watch out for updates, I'll be letting you know how much I save!!

nine: Nature. Flowers, grass, trees, rain & animals. Flowers especially, because every girl loves flowers....right?? :)

ten: Pictures. Pictures can say a thousand words. Chris and I have a ton of pictures hanging up around our house. I love it, it gives it a more "homey feel".


Your turn :D

Its about to be a....duck fight??

As part of our always eventful Sunday afternoons, Chris and I went to Nature park to feed the ducks. We've done this before but usually during the day. Yesterday we switched things up a bit and went around the time the sun was going down. 

We were walking around, minding our own business when I looked to my left and saw a swarm of ducks freaking out in the water. We wanted to get a closer look. We crept over to where this commotion was going on and saw a bunch of black ducks ganging up on this grey duck. Biting his neck and dragging him along the rocks. (my vote, he was the ugly duckling, but I still felt bad for him!) I love animals, and right away told Chris that we had to stop this! We started picking up rocks and throwing them (not in a harmful way, we were trying to help this poor little guy) After hitting a couple of them in the heads, they finally let go. The ugly duckling escaped and went and hid in this forest of sticks 

you cant see him because he was grey...I tried though.

We started walking back to our car when we saw this:

Oh come on! Give the duck a break! This was a completely different duck fight. This time there were no rocks around for us to throw, no sticks to chase them with, so we improvised. Chris used his hands. He clapped those ducks all the way back in the water.

Moral of the story. Feed the ducks during the day, they get vicious when its past their bedtime.
I guess we started the Save the Duck Foundation
(like the name? I think it has a ring to it)
Donations? Not necessary....just help the poor little duckies next time you see a duck fight in progress.

SUUUUUPER Savings!!

Who doesn't love saving money? If you're thinking to yourself, I don't...you're crazy. I don't know if you have ever heard of couponing, but its ridiculously amazing how much money you can save doing it. TLC recently came out with a TV show called, Extreme Couponing...haven't heard of it? Go look it up. Anyways, I came across a couple websites and blogs that I thought I'd share. A lot of these websites have printable coupons that you can use just about anywhere.

Coupons.com

thekrazycouponlady.com

livingrichwithcoupons.com

redplum.com

smartsource.com

In my spare time, I think I might actually start looking into trying this. If you already do it, or are looking into it.. Lets talk :) 

Date Night: Spouse Sleepover

So if you saw my last post, you would know that Friday night is date night at our house. Last night was my turn to plan. We had a "spouse sleepover." I got this idea over here at The Dating Divas website. This is what the date consisted of.

The invitation. I put this on the bathroom mirror Thursday night. Chris always wakes up before me, so I knew this would be a good place to put it.

 The bed. We didn't want to blow up our air mattress so we just brought out the bedroom one :)

Dinner & the movie. Pizza is the perfect pick for sleepover food.

& heres us. All excited!

The game. We've been REALLY into words with friends lately, so I figured this would be the perfect choice.

I woke up to this. Yummmm. Scrabbled eggs with raisin bread :)

All in all, it was a really fun date & it wasn't expensive. Whoever said you can't have a super fun date inside your own house? Not I. 

Friday Night is Date Night♥

Okay, so who doesn't love date night? I remember growing up my parents would set aside one night during the week to go on a date. As kids, we would hate this. It meant we were the ones stuck home with nothing to do &  being in a house full of girls...it was always end up in fighting and arguing. Now that I'm married, date night is the most important night of the week for me. I love being able to have set aside time for Chris and I to spend together, especially because of how busy he is during the week.

Fridays are date night at our house, which means Fridays on Sincerely Smeda will be full of different date ideas! How fun, right? I've come across two blogs that I LOVE. They have the best ideas and all of the ideas are super creative.

and

Tonight is my turn to plan, & we are having a "spouse sleepover." I got the idea from The Dating Divas (click on their button above to go to their website.) Its a surprise for Chris, so I won't be giving too many details just yet. There will be pictures tomorrow :)

Gimmie some BLOGLOVIN'

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Whats Cookin' Wednesdays; Honey-Glazed Cashew-Chicken Stir-Fry

Before getting married I never cooked. Top Ramen & cereal was cooking enough for me. My mom was always the one to prepare the delicious meals. While I was engaged, cooking was going through my mind. (I know, I know...its supposed to be the wedding details, mom took care of that too, ha.) After hearing horror stories about how meals burn & things catch on fire...I was scared to cook for my husband and I. 

Turns out...I'm not a bad cook. Everything I've made Chris has loved...(well, unless he was lying when he said it was good. Either way, it makes me feel better.) So as of today...recipes will be on Wednesdays!! Woo! Who doesn't LOVE new recipes?

Tonights Meal: Honey-Glazed Cashew-Chicken Stir-Fry

(sure...it has a long name, but it looks tasty!)

Prep time: 30 minutes (ready in 30 minutes)
Servings: 2 (2 1/2 cups in each)

Ingredients:
-1 c uncooked instant white rice
-1 c water
-3/4 c orange juice
-1/4 c honey
-1 tbsp cornstarch
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 lg boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite size strips)
-1 c baby-cut carrots cut in half lengthwise
-1 small onion, thinly sliced
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1 c green giant frozen sugar snap peas
-1/3 c whole cashews

1) Cook rice in water as directed on package.
2) Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix orange juice, honey, cornstarch and salt until well blended; set aside.
3) In 10-inch nonstick skillet or wok, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken, carrots, onion, and garlic; cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Stir in sugar snap peas. Cover; cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies are crisp-tender.
4) Stir orange juice mixture; add to skillet. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in cashews. Serve over rice.

Oh so thankful Tuesdays...5/17

Ohhh kay, heres the deal...I've decided that Tuesdays are great. Why you ask? Well because they are NOT Mondays...and they're a day closer to the weekend. My Tuesdays, as of today, have become "Oh so thankful Tuesdays." Every Tuesday I will blog about different things I am thankful for & I hope you will comment about things you are thankful for as well. Lets make this life a....more thankful one :)

one: The husband. He's a stud. I am so lucky to have married a guy like him. He always makes me laugh....especially when he booty shakes around the house to J.Lo (oops, was that a secret?)

two: My computer. I've had a hard time sleeping these past couple nights and I can always count on my  piece of crap HP to keep me company while Chris is next to me snoring away.

three: Wall clocks. This may be a weird thing to be thankful for, but its been a huge difference since we finally bought two on Saturday. I can sit in the living room and know what time it is without having to go all the way in the kitchen to find out. (....I'm pretty sure that just made me sound really lazy...ha thats not the case :)

four: Friends. I found out that making friends isn't as easy as I thought it would be when I moved to California with my family back in September. After being in Las Vegas for 20 years, in the same house since 2nd grade, and always knowing the same people...moving to a new state was rough. I'm thankful for the friends that have stuck by my side this whole time, and for the new friends we're making up here in Rexburg. 

five: Fabric softener. I love the way it makes clothes smell. Snuggle is the way to go. It keeps clothes smelling good hours upon hours. 

Ok... now its your turn. 

did you know...

bodies & the falls

This past weekend was so much fun! We went to Idaho Falls and went to the Bodies Exhibition. Its pretty amazing. We spent a couple hours in there just looking around and learning new things about our bodies. If you haven't already been to one-I highly recommend it.

We went to a park across from the temple, which has "the falls." We got sonic (so amazing, because its been forever since I've had it) and ate it at the park on a blanket :)

Chris got some super cool glasses in his "kiddie meal"

The falls.

My handsome hubby.

 The Idaho Falls temple, right before the rain came down.

The park had the coolest chairs.

For real?

people are crazy.

true story.

One.

According to the song lyrics by Three Dog Night...."one is the loneliest number..."

Not today. Today, one is one of the best words ever invented. 

Today...Chris and I have been married ONE MONTH!

Seriously....Where did the time go?

So, in honor of our one month...I gave Chris a basket filled with things that remind me of him.

I believe he was a little excited :)

Randoms :D

As I was going through my phone, I realized I had a ton of pictures on there that I could upload to here. So here you go. They're all random & have nothing to do with each other, but thats the fun...right?

Before I got married we had a garage sale. This guy came... take a look at the back of his wheelchair. He said his daughter gave them to him? Hmm... I thought guys were born with those?

 One of the super cool wedding presents we got from Grandpa & Grandma Smeda. Bathroom towels from South Africa!

Second week in Rexburg, Chris hit a car....ha I wish! Just kidding, it was me =/ Only paint chips though, no real damage.

 If you look closely at the top of the microwave it says I "heart" Garlic. Theres a story behind this one. I was making dinner, some chicken dish, and it called for a clove of garlic. Never cooking with garlic before I asked Chris how you do it and he said to peel the skin stuff off and chop it up in small pieces. So I did...and the whole time I was thinking geez, this is taking forever to do. Little did I know, one clove is one little piece of the garlic thing, NOT all of it. Haha, lets just say our chicken was a little too garlicy that night. Oops.

We went bowling for our date night & decided best score out of 3 games wins. Check out these scores...Chris is the "C", and I am the "L". 

Chris: 243

Alyssa: 281

Oh yes, I WON!!

 Chris left to go camping yesterday morning with his business class for school. I woke up and found this note on our microwave. Hah, could he get more creative? I think not.

We're having so much fun :) I love being married!!

The unfinished apartment...

Our apartment is no where near finished, but I thought I'd post some pictures on here so you all can see what it looks like. (sorry they're blurry, they're from my phone) Its small. One bedroom & one bathroom, but it works for us.

This is what we woke up to the other morning...yea, snow.

Our living room. The wall behind the big couch needs something added.

The kitchen.

 The bathroom. Which is, the only room finished!!

I'll be posting more pictures once we get everything finished and boxes moved down to our storage.