RANT & rave

So I haven't said anything, but about a week ago I broke the screen on my phone. Big fat OOPS. I don't even know how it broke, but it did. I promise I didn't throw it down on the ground or even drop it - I had finished sending a text to my sister (Dani) and tossed it on the couch...it hit the arm rest...next thing I know, I'm looking at the screen and it's in 8 pieces. Good thing there was a screen protector because that's the only thing holding it in place. My phone still works, just not the touch screen. Nic has been such a good husband and looking around for a new phone. He found one on e-bay and bid on it and...WON! The phone to the left is the Sprint Rant. I love it and can't wait until I get it. Such a good doobie husband for getting me a new phone. :)

PS Don't forget to vote on my poll to the right. Should I dye my hair?

shout out to H & N

I'm going to give a little shout out to H & N (aka Hailee and Nic)... Last night I had a 2 1/2 hour dance practice - so much fun! I'm loving being on the dance team. :) At the beginning of practice, our captain Hailee was talking about going to the dance store in town (Zebra Butterfly) to get fit for shoes, pants and the top. The tops = gold halter tops! My heart sank because there is no way I'm going to lower my standards to wear these tops. Big fat bummer. I thought to myself that it will still be good for me to come practice and not do the performances - good exercise opportunity. The practice went really well. We finished the first part of our dance (She Wolf by Shakira). I have bruises on my knees and a goose egg from landing on the side of my knee wrong. haha It's well worth it though. We got to practice on the gym floor the last half hour of practice. I couldn't help but feel a little bummed that I wouldn't get to dance at for the half time shows. I decided to talk to Hailee at the end of practice (this is where my shout to Hailee comes in)... I explained to Hailee that I wouldn't be able to dance and she was bummed. I told her because of my standards that I don't wear halters. Her response was that I could wear a tank top underneath. I told her that that also wouldn't work. I explained to her that I didn't want her to change what she had in mind just because of my standards - I would be fine with just practicing. Hailee went on to compliment my dancing and saying she really wanted me to dance, so I could wear a t-shirt (cute of course). I told her that I didn't want to look awkward and be the only one wearing a shirt and she said that we would have other girls wear them. How awesome is she?! That speaks volume about the person she is - that she would make it possible for me to dance because of me wanting to be modest. That made me so happy! So I wanted to give her a shout out, but I also want to give a shout out to Nic... Amazing man. What more do I need to say? He has been so supportive to me in dancing. He wants to make sure that my shoes are in good condition - he massages my soar muscles - he makes me dinner when I get home from practice - and so much more. I love this man. I just want to say that I really appreciate him and all that he does for me. He makes me so happy and makes my life so enjoyable. I love you Nic more then I can say.

Straight No Chaser

No not the drink - the A Capella group! Nic and I are going to go see them with my parents tonight - they got us tickets! :) They are the same group that did the spoof on the 12 Days of Christmas. I'm so excited to see them!

for my little girl(s)

Someday when I have little girls (and I hope I do) I so want to make them this easy no sew flutter cape. It looks way cute and such a fun fall/winter "jacket." So fun to pick out fun fleece colors. :) Way super cute and NO SEWING! Unfortunately, I can't sew, so whenever I see something crafty that doesn't involve sewing, I'm there! Sisters, sisters - in - law, mothers, anyone, please make this for your little girl(s).

1 yr anniversary...soon

Nic and I's 1 year anniversary is soon...December 27. We had debated about going somewhere: cabin at Lake of the Woods, Sunriver, stay home, ... Well Nic found this amazing deal for the above hotel - The Plaza Inn & Suites in Ashland, OR. We are staying one night in an excutive king room and dinner at the Liquid Assests Wine Bar and Restaurant on Saturday, Dec. 26. On Sunday, Dec. 27 we are headed to here... The Blue Giraffe Day Spa and Salon for a sea salt bath and couples massage...YUMMY. I just booked our reservation yesterday - 1 year anniversary here we come. I can't believe that we are coming up on 1 year!

dance practice numero uno

Last night I had my first dance practice...I LOVED IT! I was so nervous, just because I didn't want to look like a dumb dumb because I haven't dance in 4-5 years! Come to find out, there are girls who have no or little dance experience...I felt so much better. We started off stretching and introducing ourselves...I am the oldest person on the team...super senior baby! haha Then we did some floor exercises (turns and kicks) and next came learning the dance. The beginning of the dance is to the song by Shakira called "She Wolf." Our dance team captain, Hailee, doesn't like doing one song for dances - she likes to mix it up. It was so much fun! My quads were already sore from doing chairs (aka squats) in yoga (yeah that's right, yoga made me sore), but I loved to be back dancing. This is going to be a huge commitment, but one I am willing to make. I have another practice tonight as well. Woo hoo! This is going to be a great workout for me - doing what I love! :)

Nerves

I have my first Dance Team practice on Monday. I'm so dang NERVOUS! I hate being nervous and I don't even know why. Maybe it's because... *I haven't danced in a few years. *I'm probably the oldest girl on the Dance Team. *Hip hop is not my strongest style of dance. *Prospect of dancing in front of a huge crowd! Whatever it is I'm so excited to be on the Dance Team. I'll have to let you know how my first practice goes. Ahh! Nic has been so amazing...as always. He has supported me from day 1. He's excited for me to be able to do something that I love. Yay! Ready to put on my dancing shoes...

Chicken Chili Recipe

By popular request I am posting the Chili recipe that we made this past weekend. 4 15 oz. Cans of Stewed Tomatoes 1-2 Cans Kidney Beans 3-4 Stocks of Celery 1 Medium Sized Yellow Onion 1 Green Bell Pepper 3 Large Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, Ground Cayenne(Red Pepper), Garlic Salt, White Pepper, and Ground Cumin are all used. No Specific measurements though. It just depends on how spicy you want it. The longer you let it simmer with all of those spices, the HOTTER it will get. Start by Baking the chicken at 350 deg. 30-45 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and a little white pepper if you like it spicy. While that cooks, finely chop Onion, Bell Pepper and Celery. Saute them in 2-4 Tbsp of butter in large pot until Celery is soft. (the peppers and onion will soften before the celery will) Add all cans of tomatoes and 1 can of water. Be sure the tomatoes get broken into bite size pieces, most are sold just sliced. Rinse Kidney beans thoroughly in strainer and add to pot. Stir together and start adding seasoning. Once you have your desired taste, simmer for just a bit. While simmering, chop chicken in to small cubes and add to mix. Simmer all together at least 10 minutes. Keep in mind that the longer it simmers, the hotter it will become if you have used all the spices. I prefer it HOT and usually would let it simmer for a couple hours. It is best with shredded cheese mixed in to your individual bowl and served with either scones, or buttered toast with honey. Enjoy!!!

Fall date night

Saturday night, Nic and I planned a "date night" that involved everything to do with Fall/Halloween...

We decided to make Chicken Chili (that was Nic's job). Nic chopping away...

And my job was to bake (I was proud to be wearing my Christmasy apron)

Look at those beautiful pumpkin sugar cookies. I also did leaves.

Here's the finished product of the Chicken Chili. It was so good, but a bit too spicy for me. Nic tried to tone it down a bit, but even he wanted it to be spicier. Needless to say, I put quite a bit of shredded cheese to tone down the spiciness. It was very tasty - we ate our chili while watching The Skeleton Key (cookies were baking and cooling).

Next it was on to carving pumpkins. Nic has only carved pumpkins once! I couldn't believe it. I always remember carving pumpkins in our garage growing up - I haven't done it in awhile though.

Beware of the Master Carver...

After taking out the guts (which are tasty to eat I might add), I like to bake the seeds. I remember my mom always doing that when I was growing up. Add some butter, stir them around until they are nice and golden brown, and add some salt - delicious little treat. Nic thought I was wierd because I like to eat some of the guts and the seeds...more for me! :)

Nic carving away. I did carve my own pumpkin, but he did help me clean it up.

Some of the finished sugar cookies. They were delicious!

Here are our pumpkins glowing in the night (Nic's is on the left and mine is on the right). I love the way they both turned out!

dancing shoes

Who's ready to put their dancing shoes on? I AM! Today was another exciting meeting: OIT dance team. That's right - I am joining the OIT dance team. They dance during half time at the men/women basketball games. Anyone is welcome to join. Before a game, you have to try out for the game to make sure you're ready. No one is required to dance at halftime - you could join just to join! I'm joining because I miss dance like crazy! You could say that this is more of a rally squad. The dances will be mostly hip hop (not my strongest). I'm so nervous though. I haven't danced in a few years, but this will be so good for me. I had been talking to Nic and telling him that I miss dance. He said to go dance then. Where? With who? Dance classes are out of the question right now...until now! Even though I danced for quite some time, I feel like I haven't had my fill of it. I've got a fever and the only medicine that will cure it is more dancing! haha Nic is so excited for me and I'm so grateful that he's supportive of me doing what I want to do. This will be so good for me. It's time to get out my dancing shoes!

MSW???

Last night I went to a meeting about Portland State's Distance Option for a Masters in Social Work... Background info: Last Summer my mom and I were planning a trip to all of the MSW schools I had researched and were going to apply to...then I met Nic and my plans changed. I was going to be able to get my MSW in 1 year because of an advanced standing program. You are able to do that if you have a BSW. Because my degree has changed, so have my plans... Getting an MSW is on my bucket list. I don't know when I will accomplish this or if I ever will, but it's a goal of mine. I decided to go to this meeting last night to see what one of my options is. In a nutshell: mostly online work - travel to Portland 4 times/term for the 1st year - travel to Ashland (SOU) 4 times/per term 2nd and 3rd years. The travel would be for 2 days, on campus classes from 9 am - 4 pm on Friday and Saturday. I have heard that PSU has an amazing social work program and this was one of the schools on my list. It was a very informative meeting...Problems? Cost is unbelievable. They just raised their tuition by about 10% which was huge! They still plan on raising it more next year. Ahh! That's where FAFSA comes into play. That's an option...I don't know what it is, but something is holding me back. Nervous? Too young? I was the youngest person at that meeting. haha I think what it boils down to is that I don't feel confident enough in myself. I don't know why...Timing is everything with this. I have no idea if this will be in 2, 4, 8, 10 years. Who knows?! I don't. Nic was thinking like in a couple of years. Ahh! This would be such a huge committment and I would need all of the support I can get. I can't even believe I'm even talking about it. Crazy! Nic did say something so sweet to me last night; he said that no matter what I decide, he is completely supportive. It made me so happy to know that Nic is 110% behind me no matter what - that's amazing support every girl deserves. :) I'm really glad I went to the meeting. I've got some praying to do to figure out what the best decision is for me/us/my family. I'm researching other online MSW programs. Texas University. University of North Dakota. ???

Don't Look Down

As you can see to the right, I have a column called Don't Look Down. I like putting happy/exciting/fun/:) things that are going on in our lives or are coming up. As you can see I have an MSW (Masters of Social Work) meeting tomorrow (Oct. 6). I would love to one day get my MSW and there's a meeting about the MSW program from Portland State University. I'm very excited to go and learn about their program. I'm hoping one day they will bring an MSW program here to OIT..... You might also notice in this same list that I have put "dance team." OIT has a dance team! Do you know excited I am about this?! I AM SO EXCITED! I have missed dancing. I got an email for tech news DAILY (I'm the official editor) about a meeting that's on Wednesday. Count me in! My friend is advising it. I told her I would help out with ANYTHING! They will be dancing at the Men/Women basketball games. Woo hoo! I have no idea when try outs are, but count me in! :)

4 Ds Day

I officially declare October 5, 2009 as 4 Ds Day: Dumb Dumb Driver Day. Yes that's right, every driver today in KTown has been a dumb dumb. I don't know what it is, but I have been stuck behind quite a few people from Nevada. People from Nevada can not drive. I think everyone is dazed on Halloween candy or they don't know what to do about the cold weather. Whatever the reason may be, welcome to 4 Ds Day!

Hello Fall

Can I just say that I'm so happy it's Fall? I'M SO HAPPY IT'S FALL! I love the smell of the air, the leaves changing, the cold, I love everything about Fall. Nic and I have no Fall decorations, so I decided to get my craft on while he was at mutual. I bought materials to make a Fall wreath and hadn't made it until last night. Here's the finished product: I actually hung it on my back door, because no one every comes to our front door. People would think that our back door is our front door, but it's not. So it hangs on our back door for all to see. I love how it turned out and Nic loves it! :) He was impressed. I got the idea from Sumo's Sweet Stuff (my sister). She always has great crafts to do!