I love, love, love Fall! One of the many reasons I love Fall is because some of my favorite fruits and vegetables are in harvest: peaches and zucchini. I have really turned into Suzy Homemaker lately. This last weekend I tried my hand at freezer jam. It was so easy! I made three batches: peach, strawberry, and peach strawberry. They are all yummy but peach strawberry was the favorite. I made a low sugar variety but it was still plenty sweet. Here is the recipe:
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/peach_jam.html

I also made refrigerator pickles. That was easy, too! In 4 days I will have yummy bread and butter pickles. Refrigerator pickles and freezer jam... where have you been all my life?!

Has everyone heard of pinterest.com? If not, you should get on it! This website is consuming my life and I think it is responsible for my domestic mood lately. There are so many great ideas for the home, fashion, crafting, you name it. I also love that I can follow friends kind of like facebook, but better!

Finally an Update!

Wow! It has been a really long time since I updated my blog. I guess that goes to show just how busy my summer was! I haven’t had a break from school since I last posted and I have had crazy events back to back to back to plan at work. But Hallelujah! I survived and now Autumn is on its way! This time of year is my absolute favorite. It just feels so new and exciting! Its back to school time, plus tons of cute clothes in beautiful colors are on the racks at my favorite stores. And let’s not forget the Fair! I spent a good share of my 4 day weekend in Blackfoot with family and friends going to the Fair to eat yummy food and see the sights. Here are some of my favorite things about the good ol’ Fair:

• Seeing people I know
• Looking at the photography, quilts, and cakes
• Eating scone nuggets, ice cream cones, pronto pups, hamburgers piled with onions, and drinking frozen lemonade
• Trying to find Kenny Rogers with Jessi Weaver (HA!)

Maybe it is just the Blackfoot in me… but I do LOVE the Fair : )

I enjoyed the summer blockbusters! I went to a lot of movies over the summer. Here were my favorites:

Here are a couple of photos from my summer fun. We went to Vegas for a much needed vacay, camped in Island Park, and had lots fun with family and friends.

Good Advice

This week was Audrey Hepburn's birthday. I thought this advice I read from her was really profound:

“For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode, but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives and the passion that she shows.

The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years."

Happy Mother's Day everyone!!

Some Things I've Learned...

It has been a rough week. But I feel like I have learned a lot about myself... here are some things I have been pondering...

1. We have to take the good with the bad in life and roll with it… and try to focus on the good and not dwell on the bad.
2. Patience is something I don’t have and am working on.
3. Do not compare yourself to any other person… ever.
4. Harry Potter, Jack Bauer, Sex and the City, and caramel popcorn make me feel better… weird combination, but true.
5. John Mayer’s “The Heart of Life” and “Stop This Train” are amazing and incredibly relatable for me.
6. I am looking forward to a much needed vacation.
7. My husband is absolutely amazing. He makes up for my lack of patience and has so much love for me. He also loves my parents, which really touches my heart.
8. Heavenly Father always provides a silver lining.
9. Life is short.
10. It is heartbreaking to see a parent cry for the first time…and not be able to do anything about it.
11. I will miss my grandmother. She was strong, insightful and loving all in her own special ways.
12. Take things one step at a time. I have learned that I can’t plan out my entire life on a calendar. I need to just let some things happen to me. All my life I have done everything the exact way I am supposed to… and I think it is okay to say “what the hell” once in a while (Thanks, Avril Lavigne... lol).

There hasn't really been anything too exciting going on in my life; Just the normal, everyday stuff. I have been cooking some fabulous things, though! The other night I made crepes with a lemon cream cheese filling that turned out pretty amazing if I do say so, myself. Last night I made white chicken enchiladas that were also spicy and fabulous. And I’m losing weight whilst eating all this delish food, which is even better! I noticed I haven’t posted a book review for a long time either! I am still reading Uglies by Scott Westerfield. It really is a quick read, but I’m just slow! I have been really busy with school lately. And when I’m not doing that, I’m cooking, exercising, or watching 24. Jack Bauer has consumed out lives. Best. Show. EVER.

I went to the Aluminum Show the other night at the Colonial Theater. In the description of the show, it compared to Stomp and Blue Man Group. I don’t know if I would really compare it to that, but it was certainly interesting! I don’t really even know how to describe what it was…. I guess you could say dancing and lots of aluminum tubing and lights? It was unique and entertaining though!

I also had to do an observation this week for school. I visited a kindergarten class, which was pretty cool. The thought of teaching kindergarten was always sickening to me, but now I’m not so sure. Those kids are so sweet and genuine at that age. I really think I might dig teaching kindergarten. Those kids really brightened my day!

I’m still loving Zumba. My friend, Mindy, and I went to a Zumbathon a couple of weeks ago. It was pretty fun and a good workout as always. And on a pretty exciting note, I took third place in our Lighten Up Challenge at work! I lost 13 more pounds in about 8 weeks, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but it was sure a lot of work! But I feel better and look better for sure. I won a $75 gift card that I think I will use to buy some summer clothes since none of mine from last summer will fit me! I need some cute things for our trip, which I am VERY excited for!

And most of all I’m really ready for Spring to be here! I want a tan and to see something green outside for a change!

Thank you, Mr. President

I have had a pretty good week! Last Monday, for Valentine's Day, Justin and I went out for a nice dinner at The Sandpiper and spent some time together. We agreed to just get eachother a card this year. I got Justin a hilarious card that he totally loved, then he handed me my card. It was seriously 3 feet tall and the largest card I have ever seen! Oh, and it sung a silly song when you opened it. Justin: "Well if all I was going to get you was a card, I had to get a good one!" I love Valentine's Day!

Thanks to President's Day, I had a long weekend! It was pretty fun. I took in a couple of movies this weekend. My friend, Mindy, hadn't seen Harry Potter yet, so we went to see that at the cheap seats. It was just as good the second time! I'm a total Harry Potter NERD. I love it!

I also saw I am Number Four. It was good! I really enjoyed it!

The rest of my lazy weekend was filled with reading, shopping, laundry, exercise, and tv. Justin and I started watching 24 on Netflix because there was nothing on TV. We are SO hooked on that show! I just can't get enough Jack Bauer! I highly recommend it! I like when I find a good series that is actually out on dvd. I always know I have something to watch when I get bored.

Superbowl Ads!

This weekend was a lot of fun! On Saturday, Justin and I went to see "Season of the Witch."

That movie was not what I expected! When I saw the preview, I thought it looked a little spooky, but nothing really scary. I jumped right out of my seat about a dozen times! It was a really creepy movie!

Yesterday we went over to my friend, Mindy's parent's house to watch the big game. We ate a lot of good food and enjoyed the game, commercials, and Glee afterward. These were some of my favorite commercials:

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=716dc1fe-c8ff-485e-88f0-001b39cd4b3d" target="_new" title="">Best Buy: Ozzy vs. Bieber</a>


<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=9f4c2bed-868f-4309-8f18-a9fdadf772f0" target="_new" title="">Volkswagen Passat: Young Vader</a>

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=cd9e0c27-e59f-4acd-9c8a-893a13580490" target="_new" title="">Snickers: Lumberjacks</a>

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=b0c7ddeb-b729-4e83-992b-40f34f7ab861" target="_new" title="">Teleflora: Help me Faith</a>

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=156f2dfc-2c36-482f-89a0-29dd93f89893" target="_new" title="">Bridgestone: Karma</a>

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=7723f2de-85cf-42f9-8ff8-a27709041d70" target="_new" title="">Target: Peanut Butter</a>

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=92bf7e1a-0ed9-4305-97b5-8ab0b40faf2f" target="_new" title="">Doritos: Healing chips</a>