Wicked

This past weekend Troy and I were able to go to Atlanta to see the broadway show "Wicked". It was awesome! It was such a cute, funny show. We saw it at the Fox Theatre, which is a beautiful place. We had pretty good seats, except for the man in front of me had a huge head!! Troy was nice enough to switch with me so I could see better! The show is based on The Wizard of Oz. It tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West and how she got her name and became "wicked". We are so glad we were able to go. If you ever have the opportunity to see it, don't pass it up!!

You might be a Redneck if....

You like to go to the county fair for a monster truck rally and a demolition derby!! This past week has been very eventful! On Monday Troy and I went to the fair in Aiken to see the monster truck rally. I have never been to one and thought it might be fun. It was!! We had a blast watching the trucks. They were awesome! Also, Troy had his first funnel cake ever!!! I can't believe he has never had one. On Friday we went up to Greenville, SC. It is such a beautiful town. We went shopping in the cute stores downtown and went to the park right in the middle of downtown. There is a river going through, and they had a beautiful park surrounding it. There is a big suspension bridge that I tried to get a few pictures of, but it was dark and raining a little bit. Then on Saturday we headed back to the fair to see the Demolition Derby. That was also tons of fun. For some reason it is so entertaining to see cars crash into each other! After the derby we walked around the fair and Troy played a few games. He won the strongman game and got a blow up baseball bat! We stayed busy this week, but had so much fun!

Utah Part 2

We went to Salt Lake a few times to hang out. We found a new restaurant that we really liked. It was Rumbi Island Grill. They had stir fry and rice, and it was so good. Dave and Crystal took us there and I'm glad they did. We drove around to see the new temples being built there. The Draper Temple is finished on the outside, and the Oquirrh Temple still has a way to go. They are both very pretty though. We hung out at the Gateway Mall for a while and also went to Gardner Village. That is such a fun place to go. It is set up just like a little village, and each store is in a cottage. They have such cute stuff. During the holidays, they get all decked out. For halloween, they had huge witches everywhere. We also spent a few days up in Logan visiting my family and Troy's family. We drove through the Logan Canyon and discovered a little cave/spring. It is fed underground by the Logan River. I loved spending time with my nephew Will. He is such a happy little boy and loves to be the entertainer. We had such a great trip and can't wait to get back out there.

Utah

We were able to take a trip to Utah on October 1-8. We had such a good time and did not want to leave. We didn't do anything major, but still had a great time. We hung out with family a lot and went to all our favorite places out there. We also got to go to General Conference. It was such a great experience--I wish I could go for every session! The colors were changing in the mountains and it was beautiful! It looked like fruity pebbles had just been poured over everything. We went hiking and took lots of drives through the mountains. We went on a hike in one of the canyons by Tooele. It was beautiful!!! We went right along a stream with some waterfalls. Then we got back in the car and drove up to the top of the mountain. At the top, we could see Tooele, the Great Salt Lake, the entire Salt Lake Valley, and the north end of the Utah Valley. It also looked right into the big cooper mine they have. It was amazing.

Cirque de la Symphonie

On Friday Troy and I were able to go to Cirque de la Symphonie. It was fantastic!! It was a concert by the Augusta Symphony, and they had different acts to go along with the music. They had jugglers, strongmen, acrobats, contortionists, aerial flyers, and one or two more acts. Although we were sitting way in the back, we were exactly in the center so we could see everything very well. Here is a picture of us, taken by the Augusta Chronicle photographer. It's not a very good picture, but it's all I have! These are pictures from 2 of the acts. Here is a link to see a short video clip of some of the acts from Friday. http://apps.augusta.com/video/video.html?id=1367 Hopefully one day I will be able to go see Cirque de Soleil, which is the inspiration for the Cirque de la Symphonie. Speaking of shows, on November 1st, Troy and I are going to Atlanta to go see the broadway play "Wicked"! I have been wanting to see it for a long time, and I am so excited for the chance to go!

Food Storage

So on the first weekend of September, Troy and I went up to Columbia with the Lerchs to get food storage. I have never been to the cannery before but I had a lot of fun. We were able to can wheat, rice, beans, oats, and sugar. They also let us take a peek into the Bishop's storehouse and talked to us about the church welfare program. It is amazing! I think the guy even said the church has the biggest cattle ranch in the U.S. Has anyone else heard this? Afterwards we went out to eat at Chili's and did a little shopping. I am trying to get a 1-year food supply a little at a time. So far I have met the basic requirement for salt, sugar, wheat, oats, and rice. I am also working on adding extra things as they come on sale. For example, Publix always has buy 1 get 1 free's, so I have added some salsa, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, ketchup, and honey. I also canned some blueberry jam. I meant to get peaches and can those this summer, but I never had time to do that. Hopefully I can do it next summer. Also soon I want to start working on emergency supplies, such as flashlights, batteries, etc. I had posted a link to a blog that is all about food storage, and they have tips on everything!

Mom's Birthday

Mom's birthday was on Sunday, and she got stuck with only Troy and I! Poor thing! So after church we came home and cooked a little dinner for her--shrimp, potatoes, and fresh from the garden Utah corn--yum. We got out the "fancy plates" and tried to make it nice. After dinner, we got out the cake and sang. We bought her a Publix cake. I got addicted to those because thats what Troy's mom buys for birthdays. They are soooo good and soft and light and fluffy and they have the best icing. We also bought these cute twirly candles for her to blow out. I posted the video of Troy and I singing to her, but it sure doesn't sound good! I was not blessed with the talent of singing. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right?! Happy Birthday Mom!

PBR

So last weekend Troy and I decided we would go to the rodeo over in Aiken. We love rodeos and go just about every time they come to town. So we drive all the way out there, get settled in our seats, and it begins. We then find out that this is not really a rodeo-this was the PBR- Professional Bull Riders. They were only having the event where the guys had to ride the bull for 8 seconds. I like that event, but I also like all the others events and having a variety of things to watch. After a while, watching only one event can get a little boring. We still had a good time though, and it's fun to go to the different events around town. The good news is that there is a real rodeo coming in September, and they are going to have all of the events. So Troy and I are looking forward to going to that.

Good Food and Good Friends

So the other day Troy and I went to eat at our friend's house. We had such a good dinner and it was so easy that I'm sure you want to try it. All you do is take chicken breast and marinade it in equal parts of soy sauce and italian dressing. You let it sit over night if possible, or as long as you can, and grill it. We made soft tacos with it--tortillas, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and whatever else you want. The chicken was so juicy and had a delicious flavor. I want it try it with couscous and steamed broccoli all mixed together. I love couscous and it is also so easy to make. I love recipes that taste delicious but only take a few minutes to whip up. These friends always make such good meals--steak kabobs, hamburgers, etc. I feel bad because we don't have a place of our own yet to have them come over for dinner, but as soon as we get a place, they will be the first people we invite over. We also love to play games with them. They are such a fun couple and we just sit around and talk and laugh and have a good time. We usually end up staying half the night because we lose track of time-I don't think we have ever left before midnight or later. Anyways, I'm grateful to have such good friends nearby.

Camping and Rafting

A few weeks ago, Troy and I went camping with the Lerchs. It was my first time camping since I was a little girl I think. We went up to the area where Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee meet. Before we left I made sure they had picked out a campsite with running water and working toilets. I had one planned just in case, but I was assured that our campsite had all the amenities. Wouldn't you know....it had running water, but no working toilets, only outhouses. I was not very happy about this. We ended up not getting there until late because we got lost a few times on the way. So we had to get everything set up in the dark. I brought an air mattress and a hand pump. After pumping forever and not getting anywhere, I had Troy try it. It took us forever and it was such a pain. As soon as we finished guess what we found......an electrical outlet!! We had the plug in pump also, but didn't know about this outlet. We had fun though, and had delicious food. For both dinner and breakfast they cooked onions, potatoes, and ground beef in a skillet. I loved it. Then the next day we packed everything back up and headed down the road to go white water rafting. I had only gone once before, and that was when I working at the camp in Maine. This river (I think it was the Ocoee River) had the most class IV rapids in a five mile stretch than any other river. I had soooo much fun. I love white water rafting. The water was freezing, but we got use to it after a while. Once we got done with rafting we headed back home. The trip was too short--hopefully we will get to do another one soon.

Hilton Head

This summer Troy and I have been able to go down to the condo in Hilton Head twice. It has been nice, but we only got to go for about 2-3 days each time. I wish I could stay longer and explore more. This past weekend we went down with Matt and Jen. We were able to do a lot and had tons of fun. The first night we were there, there was a storm passing through. The waves were pretty big and we took the boogey boards down and played around on those. The next day we went to the outlet malls, went out to eat, and rented bikes. I loved riding the bikes. Their condo is near the Port Royal neighborhood, so we rode our bikes around there. They have a beautiful golf course and huge homes! Then that night after dark we went down to the beach and lit a fire. We roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. We also roasted starbursts (delicious--you should try it. they are crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside). I absolutely love sitting on the beach at night when there is a full moon. Everything is so peaceful and quiet and the waves are crashing on the shore in the background. It was nice to have a mini vacation.

New Carpet

Well I guess its about time to post the pictures of our new carpet. I put up pictures of the old carpet and the new carpet. This carpet is going in the 3 bedrooms and the living room upstairs. Everything is done except the master bedroom, which will be done in the next week or so. Anyways, its a freize carpet, and it is really nice. The color is very neutral and looks great with the new paint in the living room. I know Becky and Melissa really want to see it, so here you go!

The Sneaky Chef Part 2

Just a quick update on my adventures with the sneaky chef--I tried out fettucini alfredo. (Its name is actually fettucini don't be afraid-o! cute huh?) Anyways, it was really good. Instead of make the sauce out of cream, I used tofu! Tofu doesn't have its own flavor, it takes on the flavor of whatever it is with. It was really creamy and tasted just like regular alfredo. I put some bacon in there which made it extra good. The recipe actually calls for turkey bacon, but I couldn't afford it, so I put in regular bacon. I can't wait to try more recipes!

Blueberries

A few weeks ago, I was able to go pick blueberries. Troy, Jen and I drove out to Thomson to a blueberry farm. Once we got there, a sign was posted that said "closed due to heat index". I was pretty upset because I had called the lady earlier in the day to ask if I needed to make an appointment. She said I didn't need to and could just show up. Well, as we were leaving the farm, we saw a van pull up on the other side of the blueberry farm. We drove over and found out it was the lady's friend who comes and picks blueberries a lot. She offered to let up pick the blueberries and should would give the lady the money the next day at church. We ended up with at least 10 lbs or so. We had a lot! They were beautiful! So that night we made blueberry jam. It is so delicious! I ate some of them fresh, and froze the rest of them. I have a lot of ideas of things I want to use them for. I am going to make blueberry syrup, pancakes, muffins, smoothies, and whatever else I can think of. Maybe even blueberry ice cream. We'll see. In the next few weeks I am planning on going to pick peaches and canning/freezing those. I am excited about that and will let you know how it goes.

Graduation!

I finally graduated! In May I was able to participate in the ceremony, even though I still had two classes left to take. I finished those classes at the beginning of July and I now had a BBA in accounting. Unfortunately, right now it is a useless degree. I work as an accounts payable clerk making little money and doing a job that doesn't require a degree. I hear how in demand accounting degrees are, but I haven't heard about a lot of open jobs lately. I have sent in my resume to few places and even interviewed at a CPA firm, but I have had no luck so far. I guess I will have to keep looking.

The Sneaky Chef

So yesterday I went to the bookstore in search of a new cookbook. Melissa has been raving about her book Deceptively Delicious. Well, the bookstore I was at did not have that one, so I got The Sneaky Chef instead. In these books, the authors make normal foods but disguise veggies inside of them. I tried one recipe so far--onion rings. It took forever because I had to steam the veggies and put them in the food processor. We don't have a food processor, so I had to do it in the blender. It seemed kinda hard and I'm sure it would be easier in a food processor. Anyways, the onion rings called for cauliflower and zuchini. So once I made my little mixture, I set up 3 bowls. One with whole wheat flour, the next with my veggies, and the last with the crunchy mixture. This had chopped up almonds, corn meal, and some paprika, salt and pepper. So you take your onion ring and dip it in each. Then the recipe said to bake them at 425 for 20 minutes, then flip them, then bake them for 15 minutes. Well, after 20 minutes when I came to flip them, they were burnt to a crisp! Haha. So I baked another batch and got them out before the 20 minutes was over. So overall they weren't bad. You really couldn't taste the veggies in there. The only thing I had a problem with was the cornmeal. I did not like the cornmeal at all. And since the cornmeal played such a big role in the onion rings, overall I did not like them very much. But I can't wait to try another recipe. It is like a chocolate molten cake. I love those! But this one happens to have blueberries and spinach and wheat germ in it. It sounds like a bad combination but I'm sure it will be good. I'll keep you all posted!

Cute Videos of Will

We had such a great time when Melissa and Will came down to visit in May. Will kept us entertained the whole time. He was so funny--he loved to make faces at us to make us laugh. Here is a cute video of him eating a lemon. It took him a while to realize it was sour!

A Few Random Pictures

A few random pictures. More Christmas from Utah. Will's first plane ride--coming to GA for Christmas. Troy and his cousin Dave unsuccessfully trying to sled using rubbermaid containes. Out new dining room at home. We ripped out the carpet and put in hardwood floors. We also painted it and added molding. Troy and I went to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. We had so much fun. Unfortunately, the battery in my camera died soon after we got there.