Holiday Season Officially in Progress!

In Utah, Halloween was celebrated a day early. Richard had to work on Friday and Saturday night so I was feeling sorry for myself. I don't know any person in the ward other than my cousins and they weren't going to the ward party on Friday night, so I decided to cook myself an amazing dinner and get dressed up.

Turns out, my Chicken Florentine turned out ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING! I got the recipe off Kraft Foods.com which usually gives me some amazing recipes... but this one was not! I couldn't even take more than one bite, it was that bad... So I decided to stay in my sweats and make some cinnamon rolls.

I got a delish looking recipe off of one of my favorite blogs... I cant remember which one, but email me if you want the recipe

I started the dough on Friday night, then let it raise overnight... and finished on Saturday.

 It is quite a process, and since I am a beginner when it comes to baking, I am very proud of myself!

On Saturday night, we went to my cousin Bria's house for a dinner party. Its always fun to hang out with people who have kids on Halloween. I even dressed Kobe up...

what a cute pup! Richard was ticked about the costume. He does NOT want us to be the type of people that dress their animals. I think that Halloween should be an exception!

Then on actual Halloween Sunday we taught our first CTR 7 class. I was pretty nervous but everything turned out great. We came home to an amazing pot of Wendy's Chili simmering... find that recipe here...

I am decorating for Thanksgiving tomorrow!
 November is going to be fun, I have something for every weekend already!

Oh and BTW, wish me luck on my interview at Target tomorrow... who doesn't want a 20% discount to be a seasonal cashier?

Bottled Up

Have you noticed how I have been trying to be SO POSITIVE on my blog lately? I had a period earlier this year when I was SO NEGATIVE and complainy all the time... I hated it! When I read back on my blog I am pretty embarrassed. I made a goal to be positive and find good things to write about. Not only that, but I applied that goal to everything in my life. I have to say, it has been working! Good things have been happening... ok maybe they were happening before but I was TOO NEGATIVE to notice?

Anyway, its been bottling up and I decided that I can let a LITTLE bit of venting out,

 maybe like once a month... right?

2 Things that have been bugging me as of late...

#1  UTAH drivers... oh holy mosby! I have been driving in some of the biggest cities in the states... SEATTLE, BALTIMORE, DALLAS, CHICAGO, LA, SAN DIEGO, DC, Rexburg (haha, kidding)

I have driven in the worst conditions i.e. Rain Sleet Snow Hail Tornado etc...

and NEVER have I been SO frustrated with other drivers than I have here in Utah. First of all, there are like 6 million 100 year old's that live here in St George. I firmly believe that seniors over the age of 70 should have to take a driving test annually.

 Secondly, why do people think that they have to be 4 inches from your bumper at stop lights and stop signs, why do they think that they don't need to signal when they are turning OR getting into your lane at the VERY LAST SECOND then slamming on your brakes. I truly believe that I have never honked more in my life then I have the last 8 months of living here. Not only that, but when you honk your horn, they get all offended like they have no idea why you're honking... oh the RAGE!

#2 Inconsiderate neighbors! I have some great neighbors. Mostly couples our age that are gone all day and pretty quiet. The kind of people you say hi to as you pass but they dont get all in your business. That is until a couple of weeks ago. A lovely apartment FULL of security guys moved in with their flashy cars that take up ALL the good parking spaces. Girls in and out like Crazy! Loud music until all hours of the night. Thats not even the bad part... 

The weather has been really perfect lately. I love the fall when it's crisp in the morning and a little chilly at night. I am so happy to be able to open all of our windows and air out the house that has been closed up all summer. That is until the downstairs boys moved in. I'm laying in bed at the reasonable hour of 11 PM listening to the loud music, trying to sleep with my window open. Thats when I smell it! 

I know the difference between cigarette smoke, cigar smoke, and illegal substances.My neighbors were tokin' it up right below my window! SOOOO ANNOYED, I got up and slammed the window. The next day, sitting down to watch my weekly Dancing With The Stars at 7 PM I have to get up and slam my patio door. The next morning at 10 AM I have to close ALL the WINDOWS and DOORS! My entire house smells and I swear when my visiting teachers come they're gonna think I'm a pot head! 

WOW, I feel better getting that off my chest! Check that off for my October vent... stay tuned for another one next month!

It's that Time

My hubby is working nights now, 

so I have designated those hours as my craft time... 

So, this week

I got ALL of this for $6 at the Dollar Store:

And I made ALL of this (I already had the jars...)

HAPPY FALL!

This weeks pick...

For another fun meal I made some homemade Chicken Pot Pie.

Another Mom recipe... but it's super simple (are you noticing a pattern with my cooking?) and SOO yummy!

Here's how to do it:

Ingredients:

1. Uncooked Pie Crust 

(next to the refrigerated roll section in the grocery)

2. 2 Cans of Cream of Potato

3. 1/2 bag of frozen peas and carrots

 4. 1/2 milk

5. 2 Chicken breasts cooked and shredded

(I seasoned mine with Mrs. Dash and Italian seasoning)

Directions:

 Preheat oven to 425 degrees

1. Place the bottom pie crust in a 9x9 glass dish that is lightly floured.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together all the ingredients- it doesnt matter what order they go in

3. Pour the mixture into the pie crust

4. Place the top pie crust over the mixture

5. Cut away any remaining dough and pinch the edges all the way around to seal it with the bottom crust

6. Put a couple of slashes in the top of the crust 

(I embellished mine a little with the left over crust dough)

 7. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown
(check the bottom to make sure its cooked all the way, thats the reason I suggest using a glass dish)

Add a salad and enjoy! 

P.S. Richard thinks its weird to each Pot Pie with ketchup... do you?

B-I-N-G-O!

To celebrate Richard's last night of freedom before he starts his new job (working 6 nights a week, yuck)

we wanted to do something fun. Alas, we live in a boring town and couldn't find anything to do so we ended up going to Sonic and getting ice cream, then coming home and watching UFC Fight Night... snore!

Luckily, my cousin Bria saved the day! She called and invited us to go to Mesquite, Nevada (about 30 mins away) to play BINGO!

We had never been before, but have heard from a ton of people how much fun it is. So we headed down to The Eureka Casino... it was packed! St George is hosting the "Senior Games" so we figured there would be a lot of people there. Really, when you think of Bingo you think of a retirement community. We had NO idea what to expect...

While we waited to get into Bingo, we warmed up with some good old fashioned slot machines. I personally am TERRIFIED of gambling! I only let Richard to the penny machine. He put in $2 and won $12!!! I was SUPER excited and made him cash out RIGHT AWAY! Quit while you're ahead... Richard made fun of me but I am TOO nervous to lose money and $12 is great if you ask me!

So we got into the Bingo room and instantly became aware of how intense these Bingo people get. There are a MILLION different ways to play and win and even computers to use... we saw people with huge bags full of multi colored daubers (the ink you use to stamp your card)

We choose to play the simplest way and only got 6 cards... its was only $4 a person... quite a fun and cheap Saturday night activity. Thankfully we had Bria and Craig there to tell us what to do cause it was SO confusing... plus they brought great treats!

Let me just say that it was super intense... the other players get SO into it...BUT luckily we had beginners luck! Richard got a BINGO pretty quickly, but didnt call it soon enough so it didnt count :(

Then, he got it again but it didnt count because it was on the same card as the previous BINGO... seriously who makes up these rules.

BUT, Richards name was called for the raffle and he won $25 and a free buffet! Shortly after that I got a BINGO! I was a little to excited and called it before she called the winning number out (they show the ball on the screen before they actually say it) Pretty sure the whole room hated our table. Another person got BINGO the same time I did so I had to split my winnings and only got $25.

Then Bria won the U Pick and won $100!!

 (sorry about the pic Bria, but its the only one I had)

Overall it was a GREAT night! and We went home $62 richer than we came! 

I cant wait to go again! Now I understand why the old people get so into it! 

We even got our own daubers to start a collection!

Oh Yummy!

I'm super excited for Fall food season!

 I never have been a big soup person, but I decided that I want to be.

So, I started searching for yummy soup and stew recipes and made the goal to do one each week.

This week I started with a Mommy classic... 

I don't know if my mom made it up, but its super yummy and simple!

Taco Soup

1 lb. hamburger seasoned with Taco Seasoning

2 Cans tomato sauce

4 cans water

1 can black beans

1 can corn

1 package of dry Ranch mix

Mix it all together and simmer for 30 minutes

Serve over Fritos or Tortilla Chips

Top with sour cream, lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes

ENJOY!

Two is Better Than One!

Yesterday we celebrated our 2 year Wedding Anniversary...

Time sure flies- our wedding seems like it was a life time ago!

In 2 years of Marriage we've:

Gotten 1 new car

Got our 1st Puppy

Married off 2 siblings

Read ALL of the Twilight books 2 times each!

Lived in 3 different States

Gotten 3 tattoo's (you'll never know!)

Redecorated our bedroom 4 times

Started 5 new traditions

Had 7 jobs between the 2 of us

Been apart for 9 months all together... for one reason or another

Year 3 is going to be the best yet!

We are hoping to start a family and move into a house with a yard for Kobe pup

We are getting involved with our ward and look forward to our new calling, teaching Valiant 9!

Richard is starting a Diesel Mechanic program in November

and a New Job in 2 weeks!

Kimmie is launching 2 new businesses and still working the Sassy Pose!

We plan on staying in St. George at least until Richard finishes his program which is 14 months long... 

then, we will go wherever the wind takes us...

Exciting things are happening and we are blessed to have another year together!

PS... my husbie hates taking pictures... he is seriously not hating life as much as he looks like haha!

Old School

I FINALLY have been able to stand up and come back to the land of the living! yay! I went outside for the first time in 6 days... oh how I missed that fresh air!

So, Im still taking it easy and hobbling around a couple of hours a day. Richard decided that I needed to get out of the house finally today, so we drove around for a bit.

We were SO excited to find a movie rental place!

 Since RedBox has put everything out of business, we have been dying to find a place so that we can get some good old movies. The place was aptly named "Movie Rentals" and is definitely old School... love love!

We spent a good 30 minutes exploring the racks and finding old movies we've been dying to see.

I was THRILLED to find the "family" section with some of my favorite movies that I use to watch growing up.

I finally decided on one of Richard's favorites...

But I made a list of more movies Im going to rent next time... do you remember these movies?

What other movies did you watch growing up?

The Things I Miss the Most

For a couple of days my back was kinda sore... Mostly just when I twisted or moved in a certain way. I didn't think too much about it since I had been doing some pretty tough work outs. Then on Sunday morning, I was just going about my business, getting ready for the day... I stood up from putting my make up on (I sit on the floor in front of the mirror) and that was it... the end of me... I couldn't stand up straight! 

Like an 80 year old woman... I hobbled into the living room and collapsed on the floor.

 Laying flat on my back, frozen peas, icy hot... Sunday was a long day!

My wonderful husbie waited on me hand and foot cooking for me and taking care of the pup.

When night time rolled around I crawled to the bedroom, bawling because of the pain, Richard tried to just carry me but that was tons more painful... it took me 15 minutes to get to the bedroom, and Ive been there ever since.

Its amazing what two days in bed can help you appreciate... little things you take for granted.

These are the things I miss the most:

1. Coughing, sneezing and yawning- every time I do I get the worst spasms down my leg. I try to hold my breath to prevent it, but we all know that is impossible

2. Itching my leg. I cannot even lift my leg or bend to the side to get that tiny itch just above my knee.

3. Taking a shower...it took me 30 minutes to just get into the bath today... Richard had to wash my hair cause I cant lift my arms at the same time, I couldn't twist at all to wash my back... nightmare

4. Grabbing things... since I'm laying flat on my back, I cannot even lift up to grab my water, or a pen, or anything really... I tried to get Kobe to bring me a pen for like 10 minutes, which was 6 inches from my finger tips. He just chewed it up...

5. The fresh air. There have been wonderful thunder storms here and I love the air right after a big rain... its so clean and fresh... I haven't been outside since Saturday

Then there are the obvious things like walking, sitting up, rolling over, moving... I would give anything to be able to just jump up and run to the store... My husby has been wonderful taking care of me and Kobe, but I now know how much I love to be independent... Pray for me to get my independence back... and SOON or Ill go crazy...