July 28, 2011

Once again....

I have to play catch up because of my not-so-nice-to-me computer. It broke down, again & this is the fourth time I've had to take it in in a year and a half....that just doesn't sound right, does it? They think its the motherboard so they sent it away to get fixed. If this doesn't work, a new computer is in my future.

Chris is officially done with school for the semester and it is AWESOME. I love having him home, with no homework and nothing to do at night. Its wonderful.

It's already Thursday and I haven't blogged one single bit this week, so in order to make up for that....I'm doing a "lets fit the whole week into one blog post" post. Sorry if its a long one :)

This ones for Tuesday:

1) The Temple. Growing up I always loved doing baptisms but now that I've done all the "grown up" stuff in the temple I love it even more. We did sealings last night for the first time since we got married and it was wonderful. Definitely a good experience. 

2) The feeling of comfort. It's one thing to feel comfortable with someone, but to actually feel comfort when you're around them is a completely different feeling. One thing that was really important to me in finding a spouse was that I would feel comfortable and safe when I was around them...I definitely got that one right!

3) My creative side. I know that I use websites as a way to find super cool fun dates...but I love making them my own, something that will pertain to hubby & I. I get my creative side from my mom, thank you mom!

4) Mail. (as long as its not bills!) My sister Rebecca always sends Chris and I cute letters, pictures and post cards in the mail and it is always so fun to get them & hang them up on our fridge. We love them!

5) Blogging. Its a good way to express feelings, get ideas & document life. I love knowing that even though I don't keep a journal, I have one online :)

Tell me...



This ones for Wednesday:


I think the summer heat makes me have less of an appetite... because lately, I haven't been all that hungry and I'm having a super hard time trying to plan meals for the week! Last night we had....dun dun dun, drum roll please....

Chicken Quesadillas. 
       yea... that's it. I'm sure you all know how to make them, but just in case...

Ingredients:
-Cooked chicken. (We cooked ours in a pan with some oil & seasoning)
-Cheese. (In my opinion shredded works better.)
-Tortillas.

1) Warm the tortilla up on a pan over the stove, add cheese and chicken.
2) Once cheese starts melting, add another tortilla on top. Melt cheese and flip over.

Wa-la! You're done! I eat mine with salsa, Chris eats his with sour cream. Whatever you choose, its usually good :) 




July 23, 2011

Date Night: Our Night at the Imagination Inn

Let me tell you the story behind this one....every once in awhile I get in this crazy kind of mind set where I want things and I want these things bad. (For example...about a month ago I was on a guinea pig high and wanted one so so so bad. I was in the mind set that I wasn't stopping until I had one... but our apartment complex doesn't allow pets yada yada ya.) 

Anyways, my good friend Cassie is at a family reunion at Lava Hot Springs. Lava Hot Springs is a water-park kind of place with huge pools, slides, hot pots and camping areas....its about an hour and a half from where we live. Chris & I figured we would go see her on Saturday...because really, who doesn't love water parks on hot summer days, oh and because she's pretty awesome! I had this crazy idea (....this is the crazy mind set I'm talking about) to stay at a little bed & breakfast Friday night and then go to the water park on Saturday. Well, things didn't work as planned & it was kinda expensive....so I brought the bed & breakfast to us :) Check it out.

I had to send Chris away for a little while so I could set everything up...I put dinner in the oven and got to work decorating.

Here's our bedroom door. 

The sign.


Right when you walked in the door this was on the right hand side. I made my own labels for the water bottles  and stuck them in a bucket of ice.

The "welcoming invitation" said this:
Welcome to
The Imagination Inn

You are staying in our Tropical Paradise Suite tonight, where warm breezes blow and palm trees sway. This quiet haven invites you to come and stay. Incredibly beautiful sunsets and flowing fountains will create a romantic atmosphere for you.
Here at The Imagination Inn we believe that all our guests should be treated as family. You will be served a delicious dinner and have the opportunity of selecting a movie to watch from our huge collection. Exotic, vibrant tones will surround you as you enjoy this complementary experience.
We also invite you to partake of a relaxing and delicious morning gourmet breakfast experience tomorrow morning! You will be served our
famous pancakes with homemade maple syrup.
 We hope you enjoy your stay. Please let your innkeeper know if there is anything she can do to help make your stay even more memorable.


 The room was decorated with murals on the walls, a monkey, leis, purple lights & flowers on the bed.


For dinner we had Chicken Roll Ups (for the recipe click here) but with a twist. I wanted the meal to look "tropical" so I put food coloring in the butter & drizzled it on top. I made us delicious strawberry banana mango smoothies & we watched 17 again while eating.


We woke up this morning STILL in a tropical paradise and it feels great! :) I'm sure we will have plenty of other nights here at the Imagination Inn. 

 With love,
The Innkeeper :)

July 20, 2011

Whats Cookin' Wednesdays; Mango Colada


Ok so please forgive me, I don't have a "real meal" to post today. This past week my appetite has been the size of a dime and nothing sounds good to me. I had the hardest time planning our menu for the week because everything sounded super gross. 

I remember the summer days in high school and how whenever we went over to my friend Mindy's house her mom would make us these super yummy pina coladas. They were to die for. We'd take em out by her pool and soak up the sun. I doubt this recipe is even close to the one her mom made, but its worth a shot. :)

**I got this recipe from Our Best Bites. You can take a look at their website by clicking here**



Virgin Mango Colada
1 C chopped mango (about 1 medium mango)
1/3 C cream of coconut (NOT coconut milk)
1/2 C pineapple chunks, including some of the juice or syrup
juice from one lime
1-2 tsp. rum extract (optional)
crushed ice
Combine chopped mango, pineapple chunks and juice, lime juice, and cream of coconut in blender. While blender is running, add crushed ice until desired consistency is reached.
Pour drink into glasses (2 generous servings, 3-4 smaller servings).

July 19, 2011

Oh so thankful Tuesdays...7/19


1) Monday Night Entertainment. Especially The Bachelorette :) oooooh & Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition

2) Facebook. For keeping me entertained on the long nights that its too early to go to sleep but I have nothing else to do because my husband is busy with dumb homework.

3) Dumb homework. I know, I know... "why is she thankful for dumb homework?" Well, because it makes my husband super-dooper smart...and because hes super-dooper smart we are going to be super-dooper rich someday ;) & I will have a huuuuge walk in closet with tons and tons of clothes. (.....I can dream)

4) Dreams. Day dreams & night dreams. Day dreams let me believe that someday I can have all the wants I've ever wanted. Night dreams sometimes make no sense but they are really fun to laugh at after you wake up.

5) LOVE. Love makes the world go round & LOVE is all you need :)


July 18, 2011

Are you prepared for this?

Albertsons
( 4 boxes cereal, 2 boxes cookies, 3 hot pocket snackers, 1 laundry detergent, 4 nature valley thins, 1 aspirin, 1 seasoning & 15 powerades)
Total before coupons: $89.95
Total paid: $25.70 + I got 2 FREE milk coupons
Total Savings: $64.25

(4 boxes cereal, 1 box taco shells, 2 hot pocket snackers, 2 rhodes rolls, 2 bottles applesauce, 1 jelly, 1 seasoning, 2 kings hawaiian sub rolls, & 1 danimals yogurt)
Total before coupons: $40.55
Total paid: $13.89 + FREE milk coupon
Total savings: $26.66

Walgreens
(2 bags chex mix, 3 notebooks, 2 deodorants, 1 oven mitt, 1 pot holder, 1 glue stick, 1 thing of tape, 1 pack of 12 razors, 2 freezeable mugs)
Total before coupons: $31.94
Total paid: $6.46
Total savings: $25.48


For these 3 trips I would of spent $162.44 without coupons.
I got it all for $46.05.

July 16, 2011

Look what I got...

for $1.39!!!

4 Dove men's deodorant's, 3 cans super stack pringles, 2 toothbrushes, a razor, gum, 2 butterfingers & herbal tea.
:)

Date Night: The Bookworm Date

So I know I've told you guys about this website before...but if you haven't checked it out, you seriously should. The Dating Divas...they have the best date night ideas & that's where I got this one from. Of course I gave it a twist, but I'd like to give them credit.

Now who doesn't love bookstores? They're super relaxing and they have so much to offer!! I made up this "invite" on word and gave it to Chris before the date. 


Whats a date without some dinner?? The first clue isn't that hard (we'll at least I didn't think it would be) it took Chris forever to figure it out. The answer: RED ROBIN.....yum!! Plus...I joined the loyalty club for free & got a free appetizer out of it. :)

The next clue was the name of the bookstore. BARNES & NOBLE (I gotta give it to him, he got that one pretty quick.) This wasn't an ordinary trip to the bookstore, we had 6 tasks to do! Once we got there and found a spot to sit down I gave him the first card which had 3 different tasks on it. 

1) Visit the COOKING section and choose a recipe that you would like to make for your spouse.
2) Visit the MAGAZINE section and find a quiz that you and your spouse can do together.
3) Visit the CHILDRENS section and find a book that was your favorite when you were a child or a book that holds a special memory for you....and read them to each other once you sit down.

 After those 3 were done, I gave him the second task card which had these 3 tasks on it;

4) Visit the JOKES section and pick out a HI-LA-RI-OUS joke to share with your spouse.
5) Visit the TRAVEL section and find a picture or information on a place you would like to visit someday.
6) Visit the POEMS section and find a poem that describes the way you feel about your spouse.

We had tons of fun doing all of these little tasks. We found some yummy recipes...


Laughed a ton at the jokes we were telling each other...

And let our imaginations run wild at the places we would like to travel to.

All in all, it was a super fun date & the best part is...we only had to pay for dinner. You could even skip out on the dinner and just do the bookstore part, that way...its free :)

July 15, 2011

Guess what?

I have a super-dooper fun date night planned for tonight :)
buuuuuut I can't give you details just yet.


It's a surprise for the hubs of course.
Keep your eyes peeled for a post tomorrow...
pictures & details will be up.
promise.

July 14, 2011

Happy Thursday!!

Lets laugh a little, shall we?
 Uh-oh, rollercoaster troubles.
This is pretty trippy..

Right place at the right time, or wrong place at the wrong time?

 This lady is awesome.

Microsoft's 3 most important keys.
 

Clever

Its a hard life..

When you gotta go, you gotta go.

July 13, 2011

Whats Cookin' Wednesdays; BBQ Chicken Pizza


If you've ever been to California Pizza Chicken you know that they have delicious pizza! I'm going to try & make their BBQ Chicken pizza tonight.

BBQ Chicken Pizza
Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients:
-Cooked chicken (cut into bite size pieces)
-BBQ sauce
-Mozzarella cheese
-Onions, chopped
-Pillsbury pizza crust

1) Unroll pizza dough on cooking sheet.
2) Spread BBQ sauce onto dough, up until 1/4 inch from sides.
3) Sprinkle cheese over sauce, then place chicken on dough.
4) Sprinkle more cheese on top, add onions if wanted.
5) Cook pizza following the directions on dough package.

Hopefully it works out! We'll see!

July 12, 2011

Oh so thankful Tuesdays...7/12


Today I'm especially thankful for family. All of my life I have always known that families are forever but now that I'm married and will have a family of my own it gives greater meaning to that phrase. My immediate family has helped make the person I am today & I thank them for that, so today....I am thankful for them :D

My dad Charley. He has always made it possible for us to have everything we need. He's a hard worker and is a wonderful shoulder to lean on.

My mom Julene. She works so hard to help us and do things for us kids throughout our lives. She's inspired me to be an amazing mother and wife.

Jessica. She is the nicest person you will ever meet. She has a heart of gold and will always help you if you need it. She is coming up here to Rexburg in the fall and I couldn't be more excited to spend time with her!

Danielle. This girl is my mini-me, people always get us confused. She is so fun to be around and is such a pretty girl. Its hard to believe she will be going into high school in the fall.

Rebecca. She's is eight years old and is the sweetest, funniest girl you will ever meet. She has a little bit of every ones personalities and is the best pen pal. 

 My sweet hubby. Sometimes its still hard for me to believe that I'm married and am able to have a family of my own, but I know when that times comes...we will all be in good hands because of him.

July 10, 2011

Waking up at 5am works??

I'm not really sure if I've blogged about this before....but Chris had this crazy, wild, outrageous, out of this world, extreme idea that he should become a triathlete & do a triathlon. There just happened to be one going on at the school, so for 2 weeks...he woke up at 5:00am, 6 days a week, and trained. He's always been an athlete, but in order to WIN you have to practice, right?

Well...the day came for him to compete. The plan??
RUN-3.1 miles
BIKE-12 miles
SWIM- .7 miles
(I had that disgusted feeling in my stomach while I was typing that. I could NEVER do that. Cheers to anyone who does & has ever done a triathlon before.)

I didn't get to get many pictures because of the way it was all set up. But I was there for his final event, swimming. 


He finished with a total time of (drum roll please.....) 1 hour, 3 minutes and 40 seconds. Yeah...what-a-stud, huh?? He was 1st in his heat, and overall was 12th out of 100. 

This picture was taken after he was done....can you see the relief on his face?? I sure can.


GO 704!!! You-da-bestest!

Sams, AE & Famous Daves.


So I have to admit, we've been slackin' on the creative date nights....but this week we went out with friends, so I believe a little slacking is allowed, right? 

First stop, Sams Club. Our friends have a membership there & needed to get a couple things while we were out there anyways. We got some pudding cups & some frozen lasagna...which we're having for dinner tonight ;) yum.

On the fourth of July Chris broke his flip flops, or "slops" (that's what he calls them) sad day, right? Well we decided to go to American Eagle to get him some new ones. I didn't mind...the buy one get one 50% off sale meant I got a pair too :) Woo!

Lastly we made a stop at heaven, oh I mean Famous Daves. If you haven't eaten there...you should!! It was Chris' first time trying it....and now he loves it. Best BBQ food on the planet.


It was a great date night. Very fun & it was good to have some company with us.

July 6, 2011

Whats Cookin' Wednesdays; Crock Pot BBQ Chicken


Mmmm mmmm mmmm our apartment is smelling so good right now. Wanna know why?? Cause we're having BBQ chicken tonight.

Crock Pot BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:
-Chicken breasts
-BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays.)

(YUP. That's it! Nice & easy!!)

1) Place chicken in crock pot & pour bbq sauce on top. 
2) Cook on low for about 6-8 hours.
3) Serve with rice...or make a sandwich out of it.

So easy & hopefully SO good. We'll see!


July 5, 2011

Oh so thankful Tuesdays...7/5


thirty-seven: Holiday Weekends. Why? Because it means Chris doesn't have school...which means we get to spend more time together. Woooo! :)

thirty-eight: Cleaning Products. I hate messy-ness. Our apartment is usually pretty clean. Windex, Clorox Wipes & vacuums are the bomb dot com.

thirty-nine: Super duper deals! We got a 24-pack of water for $1.99 at Walgreens the other day. Boo-yahhhh!

forty: Recipe websites. I love being able to find new recipes whenever I want. It can sometimes be boring eating the same thing week after week. Just ask Chris, I'm pretty sure he's sick of Chicken Alfredo. (if you have any yummy ones-send them my way!!)

forty-one: Albertsons. So if you shop at Albertsons you know that if you have a preferred savings card you earn $ .05 gas rewards for every $50.00 you spend. Well, the one we have here in Rexburg doesn't have gas pumps so I haven't used my reward points. I went to the one in Idaho Falls today and decided to use the rewards at their gas station. Regular price: $3.45gal. I got mine for $3.13gal. Talk about awesome. 


Our fourth...

Every Fourth of July there is a parade held here so we decided to go. 

This is the street before the parade started. Chris went to work out around 6am that morning & he said there were already chairs lined up and down the streets. It was packed!

The Beehive Bug

Men with bagpipes...they were good!

 The Broulim's race car....pretty sweet!

Chris' mission presidents company..Doug Andrus Trucking.

A local gymnastics place. This was a pretty cool float. It was a semi truck with a trampoline like bed. The gymnasts were doing flipsvwhile the truck was driving.

If you look closely, the girls in the front are standing on horses. Each girl has two horses, with one foot on each. Now that is talent!

Local car wash place called Ray's had a really fun one. They had all the workers dress up and do the "greased lighting" dance to the song down the street.

This is before Chris got some pretty sweet new shades. But there we are, sportin' the red. (I made Chris wear it...he wanted to wear South African colors haha)

Afterwards we went to Porter Park where they had "a day in the park." A ton of local vendors had booths and were selling food, drinks, crafts, etc. It was really fun. We got some really good panchi (pretty much like chicken chow mein) from this Chinese place and some kettle corn. We came home, Chris watched a movie...I took a nap, we ate dinner, we both took a  nap then headed to Nature Park to watch the fireworks.

We got there at 9, the show was after the rodeo at 9:30. We set up our chairs, grabbed some blankets and waited for the magic to start. 10:00 rolls around...nothing. I thought I read it wrong, that the show was at 10:30 not 9:30....well, 10:30 rolls around....still nothing. 11:00 finally got here and there was nothing...not even a sign that the show would be starting soon. We packed up our things and headed home. We were exhausted & not about to wait another two hours to see if anything happened. 

Overall, it was a great Fourth of July....the only thing that could of made it better would have been the fireworks.