mencent

Happy (late) Valentine's Day!

2012-02-15T18:11:00.001-07:00

This year for Valentine's Day, Vince and I went out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings. They opened a few weeks ago at their first location in Utah (Lehi/American Fork). I can't believe there hasn't been one here sooner because it was packed (now yes it was Valentine's Day, but I've driven by and saw it packed on other days). I like that they selected Lehi for the location because there weren't as many "zoobies" as I was afraid there would be, which was just lovely! There were a few NBA games on and a college game. We went as soon as Vince got off work, so we were there a bit early to see any of the Ohio State game, but I still wore my shirt (hey it was red!). They eventually put on the Jazz/Thunder game on most of the screens, which was our cue to leave (haha). Also, instead of us each getting a gift for the other, we bought a joined gift, new sheets for our bed! We got a set for our wedding, and discovered that they are the most soft and comfortable sheets I've ever felt, but it was time to get a new set. Although they are a bit expensive, they are completely worth the pretty penny we paid for them.

A few days ago I also made a few Valentine's Day decorations. I've been on a "mini clothespin kick" you could say. It's so easy to store this way, and i can use the clothespins for several different and temporay projects throughout the year. The heart banner turned out so cute! The first one is in the living room/hallway, and the second is in the office.

I also made a few valentines that I've been uploading to Scrapetite. Here's my favorite one, the one I made for Vince. I found that adorable keyboard paper and knew I had to make something for Vince with it.

This weekend I plan on making some cute Valentine cupcakes to share since it's not so good to eat an entire dozen cupcakes by yourself! Overall I say it was a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Ethnic Dinner 2: Italian

2012-02-12T20:56:00.002-07:00

This week we decided on the country of Italy! We wanted to try to make something Italian that didn't involve pasta, and chose Pollo al Marsala (Chicken Marsala). This has always been my favorite thing to eat whenever I go to an Italian restaurant and was low-carb friendly for Vince's diet. We used the recipe from here. In addition we had a side salad and some blood orange soda. Mmm!

For dessert I originally wanted to make cannolis, until I saw that you need some sort of cannoli mold. Since we didn't have anything we could use for that, and we didn't want to buy anything, we decided on a fruit salad with cannoli cream that we saw on Giada's part of the Food Network website. This was not very low-carb friendly, but very very delicious! (Recipe from here.)

Next time: Indian!

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

2012-02-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't made any of these before last week. They were SO easy to make! Found the idea on Pinterest (of course!). I made one for the kitchen and one for each bathroom. Also, they fit in with my love of all things farmhouse/country. I love them!

Super Bowl Yummies, school update and a new addition!

2012-02-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

This past week has been a little busy. School is what is taking up most of my time, but I don't mind. Math is going well so far (we haven't done anything too terrible, although I still detest story problems). In English we are currently working on our second paper (out of only 5 papers for the whole semester). Our first paper was on problematizing a topic of our choice and I decided on bilingual classrooms. Still waiting to get the grade back, but I think I did well. It was a challenge to present a completely non-biased description of the problem, but I learned a lot. The second paper was problematizing an event in local or global news. For this paper I chose to write about a news story from back in November that took place outside of Cleveland about an obese child who was taken away from his parents because they believed that him being obese was a form of abuse. It's been interesting to write about so far.

Stress management is the easiest class I've ever taken, which is very good for my stress level haha! Most of the assignments so far are journal entries and writing about personal goals. Psychology is still my favorite class by far. We finished watching a documentary last week called "Secret of the Wild Child" about a girl named Genie. Genie had been found in her home after nearly 10 years of living in isolation. Several psychologists and therapists were trying to determine if Genie could still learn and go on in life after missing out on important parts of language development as a young child. The ending was very sad, because Genie ended up being bounced from foster home to foster home and never was able to gain the needed language skills. We learned that the first few years of life are critical in learning to speak, and how important a good environment is for a child in all aspects. Today we went over the Susan Powell case and talked about how there were so many signs that Josh Powell was a sociopath. It was quite interesting to reread the news stories with that idea in mind.

Yesterday we had a small party for the Super Bowl, mostly as an excuse for Vince to make a bunch of chicken wings and for me to make some other delicious goodies. First I made some homemade ranch dip. I cannot believe how easy it was, and am a little upset at myself for not making any before yesterday! This will be a recipe I will use over and over again! The best part is, it tastes BETTER than the ranch you get from the store, without all the extra preservatives which may or may not be bad for you.

Next I made some homemade french onion dip. I've been looking for years out here to find a good chip dip. I've tried several brands and was never able to find one yummy enough. I guess I was spoiled with two delicious chip dips in Ohio, one a local dip called Lawsons, and another (which may be regional, i'm not sure) called Heluva Good. The past few months I decided that if I couldn't find one out here ot buy already made, that I would make one myself, and so I started my search for the perfect recipe. This recipe was GOOD! Doesn't taste like either of my favorite already made dips, but a completely different and delicious flavor! Vince and I tried Saturday night to make homemade potato chips, but they just didn't turn out right. Maybe we did it wrong?

As another side, I made some deviled eggs. Mmmm I could eat them all day!

Finally for dessert I made some football cake pops using our brand new KitchenAid! I got a Cake Pop book (created by the woman who blogs at Bakerella) for Christmas and these were my first attempt. I think they turned out really well! Plus the chocolate melts we got cheap from Winco. The only thing I wasn't happy with is the white stripes. I used royal icing because I didn't have any of the white decorating gel that the recipe called for, but now I know it's not the best.

Sunday Ethnic Dinners are back

2012-01-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

Back in 2010, Vince and I had started out the year with a weekly Sunday Ethnic Dinner. I thought it was a neat way to learn about food from other countries by making a main dish, dessert, and sometimes even a side dish from that country, while reading about what made that dish significant and what part of the country it was from. We decided to start doing it again, but instead of doing it every week, we are changing it to only every other week. So today we started it back up again. Tonight's country, was Germany. For the main dish we made Weiner Schnitzel (recipe from here). It originally calls for veal, but since we couldn't find any we used pork loin. It turned out so good! For sides I made some mashed red potatoes (potatoes are a popular side dish in Germany), and a small side salad.

For dessert I made Berliner Pfannkuchen, which were essentially mini jelly donuts. These things are dangerously yummy! I made a half batch, which made it a little easier to not eat them all at once knowing there weren't many available haha! Recipe from here.

Two weeks from today will be Italian!

Spring Semester 2012

2012-01-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

Can't believe I'm already heading into the third week of classes! This semester is a fairly boring semester. First I'm taking Math and English, which isn't too exciting. I was highly recomended to take Stress Management. So far it's an interesting class, learning about the body's reaction to stress and how we can manage it. Plus it's an easy A, we were told we take our midterm with a partner and our book and notes! The final class is by far the most interesting and incredible class I've taken, Psychology. Our first assignment was to go on a few psychology websites, such as Psychology Today, to look at articles and topics within Psychology that might interest us. The funny thing is that I subscribe to some of those websites' rss feeds! Friday we annalyzed the behavior of the candidates during the latest Republican debate and talked about an upcoming project. At the end of class our professor told us about what topic we would be discussing monday. Any guesses? How music affects the brain. Is this not the perfect class for me or what?!

Proud new owner

2012-01-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

Of this guitar:

I got it for Christmas in Ohio, but there was no way I could bring it back with me, so we returned it there, and I used the money to buy it again at the Guitar Center in Las Vegas. I'm so excited to learn! I've mastered the woodwinds, can play some piano, and figured this was the next logical instrument to learn. I taught myself nearly every other instrument I know, so I'm hoping I can still do that. Can't wait to see what I can play in a month!

Pinball Hall of Fame

2012-01-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon Vince and I went to the Pinball Hall of Fame with our friend Al. Vince had been before, but I hadn't. It's so cool! There are dozens of pinball machines, with some of them dating as far back as the late 40's! Here are some of the machines I played on or thought were cool:

here's an old machine from 1968!

One of the rows of old machines

a KISS pinball machine

a GNR one

Giligan's Island haha

Night Rider

Super Mario!

a cool space one that Vince loved.

and of course there was a ms pac man machine!

Consumer Electronics Show

2012-01-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Last year Vince and I were sick during CES, so we were excited that we got to go this year. I think it's more exciting if you only go once every other year or once every few years because it seemed more enjoyable having missed a year of it. Anyway, we flew down Wednesday night with a great deal we got from Southwest (plus I get rapid rewards points). Thursday we spent the entire afternoon there, and Friday just Miriam and I went. Here are some of my favorites from the show this year:

The super thin Lenovo Laptop. I am a big Lenovo fan so it was neat to see this. I was hoping to see the Lenovo Yoga, but it was only there in a press room.

This was a neat thing at the Microsoft booth. I tried to look at everything through the eyes of a future teacher, and this is something I hope will be in classrooms in the future.

The Microsoft booth is always cool.

Here's a SMART Board-esque touch screen from Samsung. Students can be at their desks using their Galaxy Tab and send information to the main screen in the front of the classrooms. Such a neat idea for future classrooms!

More info about the Samsung board.

This was my favorite tablet. It's a flip one from Sony!

Here it is open.

and here it is closed. Easily small enough to fit in even the smallest purse!

The LG Fridge with a blast chiller.

Stick a warm pop in here and it will be chilled within minutes.

LG had a cool 3D display at their booth.

I thought this pill box geared towards dementia patients was cool.

A video baby monitor! Neat idea for when your baby is sleeping in their crib.

These fruit ninja toys were just adorable!

These were pedometers geared towards kids. There's a website you can log in to show how many miles you've walked and get prizes and stuff online.

Miriam loved trying out this insanely huge lens valued at $32,000!

Also not pictured here, was the new Lenovo smart phone! Not sure when it will come to the U.S. but man I really like it! I'd say it was a pretty sucessful year. Of course there were plenty of other things that we saw there as well. I had a great time!

Christmas Village a little late

2012-01-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

In early December my mom found the perfect Christmas village for me. I had been looking for years for a village that had a barn in it, but the cheapest I could find was 80 dollars for one building! That was wayyy too expensive so I just kept looking. Well, my mom found a village at Kmart that had a barn, AND it was affordable! When I looked at the pictures online I discovered nearly every piece was perfect! We could only afford to get one, so I decided on the cute barn, and just hoped that the rest of the buildings that I liked would be back next year. Well, my mom ended up getting the other buildings and pieces for me for Christmas!! Since I got it after Christmas, I set it up once I got home to see how they all looked together.

This is the mayor standing in front of the dance hall.

Here's the town knitting shop.

A cupcake cottage!

people with their Christmas tree, and a dog house decorated for Christmas.

The barn

A tree trunk with squirrels on it and an outhouse haha

The whole village! All I need are some trees. Can't wait to have it up next year!!

More Ohio Happenings

2012-01-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

The first week of January my mom and I made some cabbage rolls as a late Christmas tradition.

They turned out so delicious!

Another day Toby and I ventured outside to build a snowman before all the snow melted. Ok, I built the snowman, but Toby watched. A snowman and a snowdog!

We also picked up a new toy from Target for Toby. His other squeaky toys have 2 squeakers in them, but this new toy had 5!

I took Toby on two walks once the weather warmed up.

Also I started working on my second nephew's baby book. It's going to be so cute! Plus I enjoyed many hours of watching HGTV and hanging out with my family. It's hard to believe that the next time in Ohio it will be for Derek's homecoming! I will miss it until then.

Snowy Ohio

2012-01-03T19:45:00.002-07:00

LaGrange, Ohio was predicted to get up to 10 inches of snow the past 48 hours, but we only got about half that. Last week when there was a dusting of snow I took some pictures of Toby outside with his scarf.

Here are some pictures of the recent snow.

Toby loves running and jumping in the snow.

so white and fluffy!

it's really hard to capture falling snow!

A few goals for 2012

2012-01-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

Church related

Visit as many temples in Utah as possible
Read the Book of Mormon in French
Learn more about my family history

Craft related

Knit a pair of socks
Make a king size quilt for our bed (fabric has already been bought!)
Build a headboard for our bed

Education related

Finish all the necessary math classes i need
Study for and take the praxis
Read at least 6 books from the list 101 Books Every Teacher Should Read

Health related

Learn to manage my allergy better
Drink at least 64 oz of water a day
Run a 5k

Music related

Learn to play guitar
Digitize and record my piano compositions
Attend at least one classical music concert

Etc.

Bring back sunday ethnic dinners (but make it every other week)
Learn more about photoshop and create some blogger backgrounds
Fill out one journal page a day from the Grace is Overrated journal pages

In 2011...

2011-12-31T11:00:00.000-07:00

Made several new cupcake recipes (including 2 of my own)

Completed a few jigsaw puzzles

Took a lot of pictures of Toby

Bought our first washer and dryer

Became and Aunt and Uncle for the first time

Had a container garden

Celebrated Vince's 30th with wings and a root beer tasting

Completed my 3rd quilt

Finally went camping

Saw the Utah Symphony's Independence Day Concert

Went to Oregon for the first time for my first Scales family reuinion

Saw Journey, Foreigner and Night Ranger in concert

Went to Cedar Point (picture from here.)

Got better at taking pictures

Attended a best friend's wedding

Celebrated a 2nd Anniversary

Went to two Indians games

Discovered some new favorite restauraunts

Found out I'm allergic to Yellow Dye #5 (and possibly other dyes) (picture from here.)

Visited Ohio for my favorite season

Saw Jon Schmidt in concert

Went to see the lights on temple square for the 5th time together

What a great year 2011 has been!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

This year for Christmas, Vince and I went to Las Vegas. We drove down the morning of the 23rd. That night we went to the Bellagio to see the fountains and Christmas decor. On the way there I realized that the camera battery was dead, so I had to rely on my phone.

Christmas Eve was very relaxed. That night for dinner we had an Italian themed dinner with lots of cheeses, meats, breadsticks and more. I decided on Limoncello as my pick for some Italian themed cupcakes. I actually did not get a picture of them, but here is the recipe I used: Lemon-Limoncello Cupcakes. They turned out quite lovely! I'm not normally a big lemon fan (besides lemonade of course), but these were very good. The lemon curd made them perfect! Christmas Day we went to church for the hour long Christmas program. When we got back we opened our gifts, ate some yummy Grandma Ashman Pancakes, and relaxed. Later in the day I talked to Derek too! I can't believe that he only has 125 (give or take a few) days left in his mission! The morning of the 26th we got to talk to Hillary via webcam. It was neat to have so many people involved using Google to do a conference web call. Later in the day Vince and I ate at Cafe Rio and he took me to the airport. My flight home was a nonstop, but didn't get into Cleveland until 12:30 am! After my mom picked me up we came right home and decided that we wanted to open gifts that night! Overall everyone loved what I gave them (and especially the gifts I had made myself). As promised, here are pictures of the handmade gifts (well almost all of them):

I made Doug and Suzanne each their own desktop calendar. A sewing one and a tooth one. Aren't they adorable?! More pictures of these can be found here and here.

I made two gifts for my mom. The first is a color idea book to come up with color combos for scrapbooking and card making. More pictures here.

The second gift I made for my mom were an oven mitt and 3 hot pads. I loved how they turned out!

For my dad I had originally planned on building a birdhouse. When I did the math, it was a lot cheaper to buy one already made, so that's what I did, but customized it a bit to look like the house.

The second gift isn't finished. I wasn't able to travel with it already build so i brought it in pieces. After I finish it sometime this trip I will post pictures.

And finally I made the traditional Toby calendar! I made a really mini one for Derek, a small one for both my mom and dad to use at work and in the basement, and one larger one for the kitchen. More pictures can be seen at Scrapetite over the next few weeks.

I just love making gifts! It's always a challenge and I have been learning so many new things. I'm already thinking about ideas for next year.

Christmas Cards

2011-12-20T17:54:00.003-07:00

Once again I made all of our Christmas cards. Most of the time I really enjoy doing it, and this year I had some extra time. I'm still torn as to whether I will give it up next year. I'd love to be able to make them all again, but it is so time consuming. I'm leaning towards doing a photo card, and if I do decide to make some cards I might try to sell them. So enjoy the handmade cards this year, because it could possibly be the last! Here are a few:

Go to Scrapetite to see more!

Such a lovely weekend

2011-12-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

Friday night Vince and I went to the library. I've always been a huge fan of them, and I'm always finding new books to read. I'm probably one of the few people who actually prefers nonfiction over fiction, so it is incredible to find so many books to read! This visit I got out:

and this one (it didn't have a picture).

Saturday we did some cleaning, I made some mini cupcakes, and we went to Gardner Village. I was disappointed to find out that my favorite Christmas store in Utah had gone out of business there and a new (and not as good one) opened in its place. The old one had hundreds and hundreds of ornaments in every category plus tons of beautiful nativities and several christmas villages. The new store only had a few ornaments, and they were all covered and glitter (yuck). Plus I only counted 3 nativities :(

Sunday afternoon I frosted the cupcakes (they're vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and heath bar sprinkles), and Vince and I went to deliver them to my cousins in Herriman and Saratoga Springs, and then to Bill and Jolenas. After we got home we watched some of our new favorite show, Castle, I worked on my Dad's Christmas gift, and relaxed. I can't wait to post all the homemade gifts I've made!

Another amazing giveaway from Lifestyle Crafts!

2011-12-16T00:07:00.000-07:00

A $500 shopping spree!!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2011-12-15T22:33:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I made some delicious broccoli cheese soup. It was my first time making broccoli soup and I was very pleased with how it turned out. In fact, it tasted very close to the broccoli soup at Panera! The recipe said 4 servings, but we only got two bowls out of it, so I would double it next time for some leftovers.

Here's the recipe from the site:

Broccoli Cheese Soup
Source: MelsKitchenCafe

1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 small onion, diced finely
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, preferably sharp or extra sharp
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
3 cups chopped, lightly steamed or blanched broccoli (I left mine in pretty big chunks)

DIRECTIONS:
Note: I used Mel's tip of cooking the broccoli in a glass bowl covered in saran wrap in the microwave for 3-4 minutes while you prepare the rest of the soup. The broccoli comes out perfect.

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes.

In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour, salt and pepper. Cook together, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium heat until soup starts to thicken, about 5-8 minutes. Add warmed chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended.

Add cheeses and stir until completely melted. Stir in cooked broccoli. Add more salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Mine was really thick because I think I added more broccoli than it calls for but that's how I like it. If you need to thin it out you can whisk in some more milk or chicken broth. If it's too thin, you can simmer it a bit longer to thicken it up.

Serve immediately in bowls or bread bowls. Makes 4 servings.

McPolin Barn

2011-12-12T16:06:00.006-07:00

Sunday afternoon, Vince and I drove up to Park City to the McPolin barn. At Thanksgiving I was hoping to get some family pictures of Vince and I there, but had an allergic reaction and my face was swollen and red so no pictures. Finally we had the time to go back. I've been wanting to photograph this barn for a while! It's so picturesque! You'll have to wait for our Christmas card to see the picture of us :)

Lights at Temple Square

2011-12-11T19:33:00.002-07:00

Brrrr was it cold last night! One of the times I checked the temperature it was 24! But once again it was a beautiful display at Temple Square. This marked the 5th year in a row that Vince and I have been coming here together!

2007

2008

2009

2010

and 2011

Now for the pictures from the rest of the evening. A few days ago I started using a tripod. We decided to bring it with us this year (i was worried with the crowds but it turned out fine).

Now to explain this next picture. Every year there are hundreds of these lanterns spelling out different words (merry christmas, love, peace, joy, rejoice) in all the languages you can think of! Last year I had looked for the Hungarian one but couldn't find it. This year I found one with rejoice in Hungarian!

A great view across Temple Square.

Our (small) Nativity Collection

2011-12-10T11:45:00.001-07:00

Sometimes it's difficult to remember what Christmas really is about with all the bustle of Santa and shopping for gifts. All it takes is a simple nativity to remind us.

This nativity was the nativity Vince and I bought for our first Christmas.

Last year we found this next nativity. It looks very similar to the one my family had growing up, maybe that's why I was drawn to it.

And this year to add to the collection I plan on making a nativity. There were a lot of beautiful ones on Pinterest, but this is the one that I loved. It doesn't get much simpler than that. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Oh Christmas Tree

2011-12-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

I love the simplicity of our Christmas tree this year. We don't have too many ornaments on the tree yet, but I look forward to expanding by a few every year. Some of the ornaments are handmade too! (Well partially handmade) I've been making more handmade ones too to add to the collection! Here are a few of the non-handmade ones:

The first is the ornament for our first Christmas from my mom. It's called "In love's embrace". I love how simple and beautiful it is.

Next is a simple snowman I got using a free $10 gift card I got in the mail from Kohls. This is one of many snowman ornaments that are on the tree. Snowmen are a reminder of so many fun afternoons spent in the yard during an Ohio winter with my brother and friends.

Third is the Ohio State mascot, Brutus! I saw him while at the Hobby Lobby in Medina, OH (where I would love to live someday!).

Last, is an ornament to start an Ashman version of a longstanding Arnoczky Christmas tradition. Every year growing up, we would try to find an ornament from an activity or vacation from that previous year. For example, one summer we went to Mackinac Island in Upper Michigan. On the drive up we stopped in a town called Frankenmuth and went to the most amazing store called Bronners Christmas Wonderland. We picked up a small ornament there as a reminder of that wonderful trip. Another year we visited Colorado, and brought back two ornaments from the town Breckenridge. I wanted to keep this tradition going, and so this year when we were in Oregon, we got an ornament to put on the tree. It will be exciting to add an ornament from every adventure and trip we encounter.

The tree looks even more lovely at night!

On the lookout..

2011-12-08T15:18:00.002-07:00

For this book:

One of our advent calender activities is to get some Christmas books out of the library. I got a few "grown up" ones, but wanted to get one of my favorite childhood books about Christmas. This book, and the other books in the series, was one of my favorites as a kid. It's cute, interactive, and was illustrated beautifully. Each page has a letter in an envelope delivered by the postman to various fairy tale characters that you can open and read. I checked the Orem library last night, and I checked online at a few more libraries, but no such luck. I guess it's time to bring my copy from Ohio out here...

The Festival of Trees

2011-12-04T09:36:00.000-07:00

Friday evening, Vince and I drove up to Sandy for The Festival of Trees. What a neat event! The cost to get in was hardly anything, and there was much to see. Every single tree, gingerbread house, and miscellaneous Christmas decor is donated and can be purchased, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Primary Children's Hospital. Someday I hope that Vince and I will be able to make a purchase like others were at this event. Every tree has a theme ranging from a University of Utah tree to one with nothing but dogs on it. I think Vince and I picked the wrong time to go because there were so many people even I was starting to get claustrophobic, and normally I'm fine. I didn't get many good pictures at all, there were so many people bumping into me. Here are a few of my favorites from the evening:

Beach themed gingerbread house

Country gingerbread house

house decorated with dog treats!!

my favorite...a gingerbread barn!

I really liked this tree quilt.

stocking quilt

llama llama red pajama themed tree!

nightmare before christmas tree!

a tree made of books!

i loved the color scheme of this tree

this one was called "Cornhole Christmas"!

I'm so happy someone out here has heard of cornhole!

It was a nice display, and a great place to get a tree with decor that will benefit the children's hospital! If I ever do go back, it will have to be on a weekday morning to miss the majority of the crowds, but I recommend everyone to go...the 5 dollars you spend to get into the door goes to a great cause!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes (and other delicious food)

2011-11-27T21:36:00.006-07:00

Thanksgiving this year was full of yummy food. I knew I wanted to make at least two dishes, but that list eventually grew. I like some of the different holiday dishes that I've been introduced to that the Ashman family makes, but sometimes I just miss my own traditional dishes. One of my favorite things to eat on every holiday was my grandma's mac and cheese (forgot to get a picture of it). After she passed away I took it on myself to continue to make this popular family dish for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Another dish that is quite popular in the Arnoczky household is deviled eggs. They aren't as pretty as my mom makes them, but boy were they good (managed to get a picture before they were all gone)!

For the 3rd dish I made my mom's veggie pizza recipe (didn't get a picture of that either). Not really healthy at all, but so delicious, plus I remember eating it at nearly every family gathering growing up. I did come across a road block this time. The crust is usually made with Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough, but come to find out it contains yellow dye. So instead I made a dough from scratch. Definitely took away from the "quick and easy" part of it, but still good. Finally I made one of my favorite cupcakes. I wish I would've known that not many of the Ashmans care too much for pumpkins though, I feel bad I made so many of something no one liked! Guess this will be a me only dish :) Here they are:

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes

(makes 12) from here.

One 8-ounce package cream cheese at room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

2 large eggs plus 5 egg whites

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoons salt

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup light brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with liners. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and confectioners sugar for 3 minutes. Beat in 1 egg white and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

2. In a bowl, whisk the flower, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. In another bowl mix the pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, granulated sugar, oil, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture

3. Layer each muffin cup with some of the pumpkin batter, then the cream cheese mixture, then more of the batter. Bake until springy to the touch, 25 minutes. Let cool.

4.Using the electric mixer, beat the brown sugar, remaining 4 egg whites and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Fill a medium saucepan with enough simmering water to reach a depth of 1 inch; place the mixing bowl on top. Whisk the mixture until it registers 160 on an instant-read thermometer.

5. Transfer the bowl back to the mixer and beat at high speed until fluffy; lower the speed and beat to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Beat in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag and pipe onto cupcakes.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

I love getting together for this holiday. Yummy food, spending time with family, and of course reflecting on what we are thankful for. But one thing I don't like is that this is the only time of year where we actually acknowledge to everyone what we are thankful for. Why don't we do that all year long? You always hear people say that they're thankful for the gospel, their family, home, health, talents, etc. But this year I was thankful for something a little different, hope. No matter how bleak life seemed to me, hope has helped give me the much needed strength. Now of course I am thankful for all of those things listed above as well. On this holiday, and for the entire year, I encourage all of you to keep this mormonad in mind when you think of this holiday and the "spirit of thanksgiving" in general. It's so perfect to share on a day like today.

Unprocessed Food Challenge...2 weeks later

2011-11-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have been a huge eye opener. I didn't go as unprocessed as others had, for example there was no homemade cheese or pasta being made here, but I did make some soup, bread, and cookies to name a few, and learned a few things. First is that so many people in this world rely on quick and easy food ALL the time (including me sadly)! Now for some meals that works, you can make a healthy meal fairly quickly (thank you salad!), but we can't expect every meal to only take 5 minutes. On the other hand I don't feel I need to make homemade cheese and bread every day, or make every dressing from scratch. But right in the middle is perfect. A homemade loaf of bread every so often is wonderful, but I'm not going to stress myself if it can't be done.

Some of us are blessed to be near to a health food store that offers some of those products ready made WITHOUT the preservatives. Here in Utah we have Sunflower Market and Good Earth (and probably more). Sunflower market is my favorite because it offers healthy items for not much money! Vince and I have been getting a dozen cage free brown eggs at Sunflower Market for $2! While I was in Ohio I visited Trader Joes and was blown away. They had so many healthy packaged foods that were actually cheaper than some of the regular grocery store foods.

My favorite thing that I've gotten out of this experience is what I eat for breakfast. I've always been a big fan of cereal. It doesn't get much easier than cereal in the morning: open up the box, pour the cereal, pour the milk, and eat. But during this challenge I've started eating better for breakfast. Every morning I start my day with eggs, fruit, or toast. And I must say, I feel much more satisfied a few hours later, instead of already looking to snack. My other favorite thing is the amount of water I've been drinking.

Now although this week I will go back to some of the packaged stuff (I've missed you boxed tomato soup), this experience will always remain in the back of my mind. I'd like to think that if money or location, or materials wasn't a problem that I could do this all the time. Someday when Vince and I live in our dream farmhouse on a few acres I hope to have some chickens and maybe even a cute little dairy cow. But for now I will do my best to eat as natural as possible without going completely pioneer! Now for some Thanksgiving cooking and baking!

Jon Schmidt Concert and The Gateway Tree Lighting

2011-11-20T19:08:00.008-07:00

Yesterday Vince and I drove up to The Gateway in Salt Lake for their tree lighting and free concert. This year the performer was the famous pianist Jon Schmidt! He's been on my must see concert list for a while now, so I was very happy to get to hear him play! My favorite version of Still Still Still is performed by him as well.

waiting for the concert to start

it sure was cold! he needed a heater up there with him!

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

2011-11-18T11:25:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Chip Frosting

(from Martha Stewart) Makes 30

3 1/4 cups cake flour

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

5 large egg whites

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Chip Frosting (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla

2. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk. In a separate bowl beat egg whites to stiff peaks, then fold into batter. Next fold in chocolate chips.

3. Bake cupcakes for 22 min. Frost with buttercream and serve immediately.

Chocolate Chip Frosting

Makes about 4 cups

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 pound confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

2. Reduce speed to medium. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla and beat until buttercream is smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Potato Gun Trip

2011-11-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday Vince and I took my cousin, Kaden, on his first potato gun trip. It was so cold, with temps into the low 30s and even snow flurries! Despite the snow, it was a lot of fun!

We drove behind their development on a dirt road until we came to a nice clearing. Someone had eve left some old pumpkins up there that we shot with a potato. Vince and I were very under-dressed! You can also see just how windy it was too...look at Vince's hair! We're already planning another trip...maybe next time we will be better dressed or it won't be so cold.

Lifestyle Crafts Giveaway

2011-11-15T12:29:00.002-07:00

One of my favorite scrapbook companies, Lifestyle Crafts (formally Quick Kutz), is hosting a really cool giveaway!

Before!

2011-11-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post this picture a month ago...but I'm using it as my "before" picture. Although winter is speedily coming to Utah, I still plan on keeping my several HIIT workouts outside for as long as possible. Heck if I can find my track shoes then I'll keep it all winter! After all, fresh air does wonders. And if I could run in several inches of snow in Ohio, I can most definitely run in the mild Utah Valley winters! (Probably just jinxed myself there, but oh well haha). Hopefully in a few months I won't be such a chunk and will get back to the tip top health I used to be at.

Unprocessed Food Challenge

2011-11-07T17:09:00.003-07:00

With my recent possible food allergies I was put on a dye free as well as preservative free diet. The dye part wasn't too bad actually, but the preservative part was. There are several natural preservatives which are fine, but the non natural ones were the ones I needed to see if I could be allergic to. Throughout this diet there were still lots of processed food that I could eat that didn't have any preservatives. Found plenty of non dye and non preservative food at Sunflower Market...they even have a marshmallow cereal that uses natural dye instead of artificial! Well, this past month I noticed several of the bloggers I followed took part in a challenge called "October Unprocessed." I wasn't exactly up for the challenge, mostly because I was in Ohio and didn't want to worry about it. But now I'm ready to give it a try. Not sure if I want to commit to a whole month right now (mostly since Thanksgiving is coming up) but I do want to try it for the next two weeks. After all, not so long ago this was the only way to eat. Let's see how I do health wise, and of course allergy wise! I don't think I am going to leave out OJ and Milk but anything else is fair game. This will force me to eat a healthy breakfast as well....no packages cereals! Anyone want to join me? It might not be a challenge to some of you, but if it is then join in, I start tomorrow!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-03T11:12:00.001-06:00

Well this year Halloween didn't go exactly as I hoped, mostly because i never got the costume I wanted put together. Vince got his part of the costume done though, and it looked great! First lets start with some of the cute new Halloween decor I made this year. The bunting idea I got from Pinterest, and the boo letters I came up on my own. More pics of the bunting found here.

I painted them with chalkboard paint so I can change whats on them every year.

Ok now for Sunday evening. We had one huge pumpkin and one little pumpkin to decorate. I saw this really cool idea on flickr for pumpkin carving and I knew that this year I wanted to try it! I always loved taking out all of the guts from the pumpkin.

Vince is a really good carver!

The finished product!

Monday after Vince got off work we went to eat at Rubios in our costumes, then Vince went to class. After we got home we lit our Jack O Lantern. I love how it turned out!

Next year I will have my Princess Peach Costume ready so Vince and I can be the ultimate couple costume!

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower"

2011-10-30T20:07:00.001-06:00

I just love that quote by Albert Camus, because it truly explains Autumn! By far my favorite season for many reasons. First, it is the most beautiful. The leaves are a beautiful yellow, orange, and red. The temperatures are cool and there's a crispness in the air, which makes for perfect hoodie weather. My birthday is the 9th of October. And, with the exception of this year, all of the major sports are playing at some point during the month: Baseball, Football, and Basketball. Concord grapes are in season, as well as apples. Plus the cornfields are turning a golden color and the skies are gray. It's just so beautiful and perfect.

This year for my birthday Vince bought me a ticket to visit my favorite place during my favorite season. I was very nervous when I first got to Ohio and saw that it was almost all green. Usually the leaves peak around my birthday or the week after so it was shocking to see all the green. This year North East Ohio broke their previous precipitation record, and everything got to a slower start. In addition the sugar maple trees, which brought most of the vibrant red, got too much water and didnt show this year. It's truly amazing that even though this wasn't one of the vibrant years, it was still oh so beautiful!

The Sunday before I came back here, my mom and I went driving around one of the Lorain County Metroparks in Vermilion.

Tuesday we drove to Hinckley Reservation to a place called Whipps Ledges. I'd never been there, but what a surprise that a gem like this exists in Ohio!

Ok see if you can spot my mom in the next picture.

Did you find her? Here's some help.

Crazy how high up I was..and my mom isn't even close to the bottom. Pretty impressive for Ohio don't you think?! Also I was just at the base of the ledges, can't imagine what it looked like from the top!

Next we made a stop at the lake inside Hinckley Reservation.

And finally we drove over to Cuyahoga Valley National Park to the Ledges Overlook. Not too many colorful leaves were left, but still what a view! (A few days earlier there were 40 mph winds that knocked a lot of the poor leaves off).

Can't wait to bring Vince to these locations next time we both go to Ohio!

Woolly Bears

2011-10-30T18:42:00.004-06:00

There's a caterpillar seen occasionally in Ohio called the Woolly Bear. It normally appears in the fall, while it is looking for a place to set up for the winter. They eventually form cocoons and turn into the Isabella Tiger Moth. However, according to legend, the Woolly Bear is supposed to be able to predict the upcoming winter. One looks at the middle brown section of it, and supposedly depending on its width you can tell whether it will be a mild, average, or severe winter. Now depending on who you ask, this is all just for fun, but I like to think there is a little truth in it ;-)

I've mastered the in-motion Toby picture!

2011-10-28T13:51:00.003-06:00

Seriously, is this not the most adorable thing you've ever seen?!

40 Sucks!

2011-10-28T11:39:00.002-06:00

Anyone who has been on Pinterest for a while will remember this being quite the "pin" about 4 or 5 months ago. The original pin had the suckers and said "30 Sucks" but I changed it to fit my cousins new age. I think it turned out so awesome!

It's still mostly green

2011-10-18T15:01:00.009-06:00

I'm getting anxious for the leaves to finally change! The weathermen here said that since this year has been the wettest on record the leaves won't be as vibrant as in past years, but luckily the cooler temps at night will help a bit. It's supposed to rain today, tomorrow, and thursday! Hopefully we'll get to drive down to Mohican on friday! Here are some pictures from a hike I went on with my mom and toby the other day. And you thought Ohio was nothing but corn fields and roller coasters!

It amazes me that so many leaves are on the ground when there is still so many green leaves on the trees!

I love this bridge! Its so beautiful in the fall too! In fact, it was here in fall of 2005 that I got some of my senior pictures taken!

Baked Apple Oatmeal

2011-10-09T22:16:00.002-06:00

This morning I awoke to the heavenly smell of a dish I had been wanting to try from Pinterest delivered right to my bed. Here it is!

Easy Apple Baked Oatmeal

(from Tammy's Recipes)

2 eggs

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 cups milk

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 large apples (2-3 cups), cored and diced

Milk or whipped cream, for serving (optional)

1. In medium-large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Stir in salt, cinnamon, brown sugar, milk, oats, and apples.
2. Pour mixture into a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until hot, bubbly, and mostly set in the middle.
Serve warm in bowls with milk on top for a delicious breakfast, or serve warm with whipped cream on top for a yummy healthy dessert!

Birthday Weekend

2011-10-09T21:48:00.012-06:00

We kicked off my birthday weekend on Thursday with a trip to Rubios to use my free entree coupon. My favorite thing to get there is the carnitas street tacos. Mmm!

Friday night we visited one of mine and Vince's favorite places, the Nickel Arcade! I was pretty disapointed when I discovered that the Pac Man arcade machine wasn't there anymore, but at least there were still a few of the old games. It stinks that so many of the old machines have been replaced by the newer gambling-for-kids games. I eventually found the Dr Mario game and played it for a while until I finally beat the previous high score! That's me at the top (MEA)! Now I need to go back and beat the top score on high!

Saturday we went to Thanksgiving Point for their Harvest Festival to find some good pumpkins! (I can't believe I left the camera color setting on Tungsten!)

We found a huge one (weighing 35 pounds) and two small ones (you'll have to wait and see our cool pumpkin carving in a few weeks!). While we were there I thought I'd find some yummy hot apple cider, but alas I guess it's just a Midwest thing because there was not a single drop of apple cider to be found anywhere at the festival! Stupid Utah!

After Thanksgiving Point we went and ate at one of my favorite places, Iggys!

I was hoping the OSU/Nebraska game would make it on the big screen since the BYU game wasn't on (i knew I wouldn't have a chance if that game was on unfortunately). But instead was a baseball game and the Alabama/Vanderbilt game (lame!). So instead I followed it on my phone. When we were done eating (and after my free birthday ice cream) it was 20-6 at the half with OSU leading! We went over to the mall to see if they had it on any of the tvs there, but they didn't. So we just hung out for a little bit following it on my phone until it was time for the movie. Stupid OSU ended up blowing a 21 point lead to lose against Nebraska 34-27. It's really hard to be a fan of any Ohio sports team! At the theater we saw Contagion. It was actually really good! Lots of science stuff in it, and just enough suspense. I highly recommend it!

Today i awoke to a delicious smelling breakfast that Vince made! I had wanted to try a recipe I found on Pinterest, and he ended up making it for my and bringing it to me in bed. I'll write a separate post about it. It was a pretty normal sunday. For dinner I wanted pizza, and for dessert I decided to make some mini vanilla cupcakes with raspberry frosting.

Vince even sang me happy birthday! To end my birthday weekend Vince and I went to exercise at the track. I must say it was a great weekend! I can't believe I am 24!!

In case you didn't know, for my birthday gift Vince bought me a plane ticket to Ohio! This upcoming weekend will be the peak weekend for foliage in North East Ohio, and I haven't been there for it in years. Although Utah does have it's beautiful moments, it doesn't really have much of a fall. On the other hand, fall is the most beautiful time in Ohio! I'm so excited to take plenty of beautiful pictures!

Bobbin Earrings

2011-10-07T11:23:00.000-06:00

I think these are one of the coolest gifts I've ever made!

Slow Cooker Applesauce

2011-10-06T10:53:00.003-06:00

Bought some wonderful Gala apples straight from Santaquin, Utah to use for this recipe. Don't they look amazing?!

Maple Sweetened Slow Cooker Applesauce

(from 5 Dollar Dinners)

12 sweet variety apples, peeled and cored

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Place the apples in the slow cooker base and toss well with the lemon juice.

Drizzle the maple syrup and cinnamon over the top and toss again.

Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 2-3 hours.

Mash the apples and cook for another hour on low.

Mash again or puree in a blender depending on what thickness you want. (I ended up using a hand mixer for 15 seconds on low to get it a little thinner than it was but not too thin).

Favorite Workouts

2011-10-04T21:51:00.009-06:00

The past few weeks Vince and I have been trying to exercise at least 3 times a week. We've been going to one of the local high school's track for a walk/run, since it is much easier on the joints and is easy to calculate the exact distance you go. I usually walk a few laps with Vince and try to run a few laps. I never realized how much the D part of Zyrtec D helped my asthma, but I'm trying to train my body to do without. Anyway today I started doing one of the workouts I used to do in high school track: High Intensity Interval Training. I would do walk, jog sprints. Walk a certain distance, jog a certain distance, then sprint a certain distance, (with distances varied based on how in shape you are). But let me tell you, after 20 or 30 minutes of this, you feel GOOD! Here's a handy infographic that tells why it is a wonderful workout.

The other is the workout we would do the 2 or 3 weeks before track started to get us into shape quickly, Plyometrics. There is nothing that got our team into shape quicker than this. You've probably heard of P90x...well one of the workouts in that program is Plyometrics. It consists of a lot of jumping and bounding. I distinctly remember hopping all around the track for one practice and being very sore and hardly able to walk after. But once the first meet rolled around and I won, I knew it was all worth it. I haven't jumped back into Plyometics just yet (haha get it?), but once my heart and lungs are up for it in a few weeks, I can't wait to try it again and get back into the shape I was at the end of high school!

Change to 30 before 30

2011-09-25T23:08:00.002-06:00

I decided to change one of my goals for 30 before 30. Originally for #19 I had that I wanted to get an ipad. As cool as it would be to have one of those, having a cool android phone and a lenovo laptop is enough for me. Also I had another goal in mind. I must admit I haven't been to any of the national parks inside Utah, (unless of course you count Kolob Canyon, but that isn't exactly in Zion proper). So my new goal is to visit all 5 national parks in Utah while I'm living here, might as well right?

Baked Salmon with Cream and Herbs

2011-09-25T21:16:00.010-06:00

Baked Salmon with Cream and Herbs

(from Nourished Kitchen)

1 cup heavy cream, not ultrapasteurized

4 4 to 6 ounce salmon filets

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram

¼ cup chopped fresh thyme

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Pour fresh, heavy cream over salmon filets.
3. Sprinkle fresh dill and thyme over the cream-drenched salmon and bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 30 minutes or until salmon is firm and flakes easily.
4. Serve immediately.

Finished Toby Scarf

2011-09-23T15:05:00.003-06:00

Can't you just see Toby wearing this cute thing? I can't wait!

Half Hike to Big Springs

2011-09-19T16:03:00.010-06:00

For a while now Vince and I have wanted to go on a hike. We decided on a fairly simple one with no cliffs and little elevation gain that I found while searching online. The hike started at the back parking lot of Big Springs Park in Provo Canyon. We left in the afternoon, hoping that the trail got as much sunlight as possible and wouldnt be wet still from the previous day's rain. t was cloudy when we started out, but the temperature was perfect. Here's the sign at the very beginning (we were headed for Big Springs):

Beautiful creek right at the beginning:

In the short distance that we went, there were a lot of little bridges like this to cross.

I'd say we walked about a mile before it started raining. At that point we ran as fast as we could back down the trail (the last thing we wanted was to not have shelter during a thunderstorm). We stopped under a tree to take a quick picture before almost being back at the car.

We will definitely need to finish this hike on a day when it isn't supposed to rain because it was a very lush and serene trail!

Make your own lottery ticket

2011-09-14T14:55:00.006-06:00

Well it's not a surprise that I love the website, Pinterest. While I was looking for a cool thing to send to Derek for his 21st birthday, I came across this link on how to make your own lottery ticket. I decided to make the ticket a football theme, since it is football season. Here is the base I made in Picnik. Notice it is Boise State colors since he is in the Bosie Mission!

And here it is once I printed it out and added the "scratch off" material:

Not as smooth as I would have liked, but I was in a bit of a hurry.

DIY Light Tent/Box

2011-09-13T22:32:00.008-06:00

A few months ago I found this light tent on a blog I follow and knew I wanted to make it! It's hard to get quality pictures of all my scrapbooking projects without one. It was relatively cheap to make as well. We bought a new box from the packaging section at walmart for $1.50, White muslin for $2.99 a yard (I got three yards just in case, but barely used 1), and posterboard from Joanns for $.49. Most light tents I saw online STARTED at 50 dollars, which is just way too much, so it was nice to DIY one for cheap! Heres how it turned out (I know the scotch tape looks sloppy, but that's all I had on hand at home):

And the first photographed card:

doesn't it look amazing?! I also took a picture of the scarf I'm working on for Toby:

Chunky Monkey Cupcakes

2011-09-10T22:11:00.006-06:00

Chunky Monkey Cupcakes

makes 12

1 1/2 cups flour

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs separated

2 bananas, mashed

1/2 cup medium chopped walnuts

1/2 cup milk chocolate chopped into small chunks

1. Heat oven to 350 and line cupcake pan with liners

2. Combine the butter and sugar and mix on low for 30 seconds. Raise speed to high and mix until light and fluffy.

3. In a different bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl combine mashed bananas, milk and vanilla.

4. Add egg yolks to the butter mixture one at a time until well blended. Next add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternating with the milk. Mix until a smooth batter is formed.

5. In another bowl beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Then gently fold in egg whites into the cupcake batter in three batches.

6. Fold in chocolate chunks and walnuts

7. Pour into liners about 3/4 full and bake for 20 min.

8. After cupcakes come out of the oven, place on cooling rack until completely cooled.

9. Frost as desired. (I used Martha Stewart's Fluffy Vanilla Frosting)

Strawberry Banana Muffins

2011-09-05T11:03:00.002-06:00

Strawberry Banana Muffins

from Joy of Baking

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

1 cup fresh strawberries (cut into bite sized pieces)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners or lightly butter or spray the muffin cups with a vegetable spray.

In a small saucepan melt the butter. Let cool to room temperature.

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract and mashed banana. Add the melted butter and stir to combine.

In another large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gently fold in the berries, making sure they are coated with flour. (This helps to prevent the berries from sinking during baking.) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.

Divide the batter evenly among the 12muffin cups, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Place in the oven and bake until a tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 to25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Can be stored for a few days at room temperature.

Makes 12 regular sized muffins.

Living Room Rearrangement

2011-09-04T21:37:00.004-06:00

I figured after a year of being in our apartment that our living room needed a rearrangement. I really like the new layout! It feels so much bigger, and it really opens up some extra space.

Not sure what we'll put in the corner by the kitchen yet, but we'll come up with something!

Homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies

2011-09-02T15:52:00.004-06:00

Recently I have discovered I have an allergy/intolerance to Yellow Dye #5 (and maybe other dyes). While going through the foods I eat that could have yellow dye, I discovered that Little Debbie's Oatmeal Creme Pies had it! How ridiculous! Anyway after a quick search of Tastespotting, I found a wonderful homemade recipe without the dye. I must say it turned out delicious!! Recipe can be found here.

Various Toby Videos from my Ohio visit

2011-09-01T09:24:00.000-06:00

He's just so cute!!!

Container Garden results

2011-08-31T15:02:00.007-06:00

This year we grew lettuce and peppers in one container and lettuce and tomatoes in another container. Let's just say it's really hard to grow tomatoes in a container in a humid part of the country, and even more so in Utah! Here's one of the bigger tomatoes (there were a lot of the grape ones as well!)

If I had to modify it for next year, I would create some sort of self watering container, because there were times I'd water the plants, and an hour later the soil was already dry again. It would be much easier to have them planted in the ground with a sprinkler on them. The lettuce/salad mix turned out beautiful! So easy, and was ready back in June.

Our peppers never really did anything. There were blossoms for a while, and a small green bump, but that's about it. The flowers were doing wonderful for most of the summer, but dried out while I was gone (haha).

Thanksgiving Point

2011-08-31T13:54:00.007-06:00

Yesterday I decided to take advantage of the last $2 Tuesday Thanksgiving Point was offering in August. It was a hot and full sun day, but I still had an enjoyable time viewing nature and taking pictures. I must say I think I am a bigger fan of spring flowers, but these were still nice.

While by the creek, I saw a few frogs hunting for bugs. They waited patiently in the swamp, then jumped and made a squeal noise haha.

I think Thanksgiving Point needs some Hydrangea bushes to make their summer flower collection better!

No more auto setting!

2011-08-22T20:50:00.000-06:00

Ever since I started using Vince's camera, I took all of my pictures on Auto. At one point I discovered the Children/Pet setting and started using that to take pictures of Toby (he's hard to photograph!) I knew eventually I wanted to actually learn how to use the camera, so I decided this past week was the time! I can't believe how many cool settings there are, and especially for a point-and-shoot camera. Also I discovered where my secret love of photography came from, my grandpa Arnoczky LOVED photography and took quite a bit of photos in his life. I remember being little and using the disposable camera we had to take pictures of my dolls and other toys, and of course my dog at the time, Kody. It's neat to discover where in my family that talent came from.

Anyways, I still need lots of practice, of course, but I am finally understanding the manual and other settings. Here are a few examples with the hardest thing to photograph, Toby!

I'm excited to keep learning more how to use the camera, and hopefully someday get a DSLR so I can take even better photos!

Ohio Week 3

2011-08-16T18:47:00.013-06:00

Took Toby for a walk at the LaGrange Community Park.

Ate at Melt.

Vince had the Westside Monte Cristo and I had the Parmageddon.

(pictures from melt's website)

Went to an Indians game. This game had two firsts for me...first game that had a rain delay, and first game to go into extra innings!

Severe storm rolling in. Indians were tied with the Tigers 2-2 before the delay.

We left at the end of the 13th inning (it was 1:30!)

The Indians won at the bottom of the 14th inning. Bases were loaded and the Detroit pitcher hit the next batter. Talk about taking a hit for the team! So the Indians ended up winning 3-2. Even though there were 11 consecutive scoreless innings, it was still a fun game!

Visited with family

Took Vince to the airport