Unconventional dayplanner and other stuff

Every morning when I wake up, I roll over and look to see if Tyler's next to me. If he's there, I know it's Monday, Wednesday, or the weekend. If he's not, I know he's gone at work, which means it's either Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday. This morning, I rolled over and he wasn't there! So I rolled back and assumed it was Thursday. Then I quickly remembered that I had just been at devotional/work yesterday, so it couldn't possibly be Thursday, unless I had slept over 24 hours. Not likely. My suspicions that it is Wednesday were confirmed when I yelled "HONEY?? You there?" and he said, "Yeah, just studying." Whew- almost threw off my groove.

We loved having our family here last week! It was so great to spend time all together. My only regrets are that the week ended, and that I had lots of other stuff going on, making it so I couldn't spend all my time with them. Boo for real life. We ate lots of good food (Zupa's, Iggy's, and Pizza Factory- let's just say I got a little extra winter weight last week) and just had fun being together. Also, last weekend was Legacy Conference! I only got to go for a few hours total, but it was really fun. Pretty sure I qualify for a medical degree now, and I'm going to be the best gardener in the world (not really, but we had two classes on both subjects, and they were really good!). Plus, I got to see Tiffany. I fantasize about moving to Boise all the time to be closer to her and her Tyler! We'd have so much fun. Maybe someday. I interviewed Jaac for my language analysis project on Friday- holy fun. I can't wait to have a talkative 4 year old. He was so dang funny! Finished the analysis last night, so that was a huge weight off my shoulders.

Funny moments from Primary on Sunday: Our lesson was on the gift of the Holy Ghost. I was trying to get the kids to guess what we were talking about, so I asked them who doesn't have a body, who could come and comfort them when they're scared or sad, etc. And little Anna raises her hand and says, "Moroni??" Maybe if you're Joseph Smith, but otherwise, probably not. I told a story about a girl who was scared of moving to a new city and prayed for comfort from the Holy Ghost. It was quiet, and I thought the impact of the story was setting in on them. I realized I was SO wrong when Denmark says, very loudly, "I had mac 'n' cheese for lunch!" This caused an outbreak of talking, with each of the kids wanting to say what they had for lunch. Man, I wish we had a hidden camera in every lesson!

Also, I'm pretty sure the calendar said spring was supposed to start on Sunday. Maybe the whole world accidentally used last year's, because I don't call this spring! Spring is all about flowers and re-growth and sunshine. I'm not expecting anything crazy, right? Maybe just get rid of the snow, and we can call that spring. Thanks.

We're headed to Vegas on Friday!! Beaver's 4th birthday is today (Eva/Eva Beava/Beaver- funny how nicknames evolve) so we're going down to celebrate and to get some sun. Looking forward to doing some of this:

And maybe a little of this:

And we're going to start reading the Harry Potter books on the drive. I've never read any of them! It might be a little dangerous to begin a reportedly addictive book series just weeks before finals, but we're willing to take the risk. Wish us luck.

Mooooo Bars

Here it is, as promised. It's really nothing special... just a twist on a classic. But it does solve one of my pet peeves! I hate it when you pick up what you think is a chocolate chip cookie, but that one happened to not get any chocolate chips in it! This is the first treat I've ever made that Tyler won't stop eating. I always feel so fat because I make a treat and Tyler doesn't have as big of a sweet tooth as I do, which means I end up eating most of the treats myself! Anyway, here it is.

Just take whatever chocolate chip cookie recipe you use, but make it without chocolate chips. I use the recipe that's on the back of the Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip bag, and it's great. Product placement, anyone? Once you've mixed the dough (for the recipe I use, just one batch works fine), spread the dough (all but a few spoonfuls) over the bottom of a large pan. I don't know what size mine is, but it's much bigger than a 9x13.

Once you've spread the dough, melt the chocolate chips and pour that over the dough. If you're using the Nestle recipe, I think it's about 2 cups. I usually use a little more though. :)

Oops- I forgot to take a picture before starting the next step. You can envision what it's like with just the chocolate right?? Next, use the cookie dough you've set aside and plop it on top of the chocolate in little clumps (I kind of smooth mine out so it's a little more flat) all over. Some big, some little, use as little or as many clumps as you want.

Throw it in the oven for 10-ish minutes at 375 degrees and you're good to go! Let them cool completely before you cut 'em up... unless you want to be scrubbing chocolate off of yourself and your kitchen for 2 days.

Tyler came up with the idea to call them Moo Bars, and for 2 reasons: 1) the cookie dough on top looks a little like cow spots, 2) they go perfectly with a glass of milk. Well, that's what Tyler says... I don't drink milk.

Sigh of relief

These past two weeks have been cuh-razy. But guess what? This week is going to be fantastic!! Things are lookin' up.

Our weekend was full of fun plans and good intentions- didn't do a lot of the stuff we planned or intended, but it ended up being great. I took my test on Friday night, and afterwards we wanted to watch the BYU game, but couldn't find a place to watch it besides campus. Having eaten nothing but a grilled cheese sandwich all day, I really wanted to go home and have some real food, so we went home and listened to it on the internet. Giselle and I have been trying for weeks to finally make our surprise date happen, but something always comes up. We had planned it for Friday night, but couldn't because of my test and Tyler studying for his test. After pushing it to Saturday, something came up for Austin and Giselle! So we're going to try for April. :)

Because our date didn't work out, we wanted to play tennis on Saturday afternoon, while the weather was so gorgeous. Tyler took his test in the morning and finished around 2. We tried to hurry over to the courts to meet A&G, but it started to rain on the way there! Such a bummer. They left and we ended up running a few errands. By the time we were done, it had stopped raining, so Tyler and I went and hit around for a little while. I was having a weird pain in my forearm every time I hit- it felt like an electric shock- and Tyler had a headache, so we wimps didn't last very long. We went to FYE and bought the movie Enchanted, and I made stirfry for an early (really early- we were starving) dinner. We both wanted to get out and do something fun, but spent so long trying to decide what to do that we just stayed in! Which ended up being great- we watched Enchanted and just relaxed. Much-needed.

Sunday I made a new treat (see next post- I'll share it with you) and we went to church. I got my Ecclesiastical Endorsement renewed for next (my last!) school year after the block of meetings, and then made pizza rolls and caesar salad for dinner. We skyped with Kurt and Gretchen for a bit (I can't wait for them to come up here this week!!!!!) and then went over to A&G's place with some treats. We had planned to watch Amazing Race with them, but it didn't record on their TV, so we ended up watching Chopped. I love cooking shows! Can't wait to have the Food Network on our list of channels.

This week will include: tennis with A&G on Tuesday (for real this time- I hope), 2 tests, Legacy Conference, and the arrival of our family! We're so excited!

That's how excited we are!

Weird stuff happens

when you're studying for a Speech Anatomy test. My friend Cami and I (and yes, I really do have a friend named Cami- not referring to myself as two people) spent a good 20 minutes doing this in the library yesterday:



"You have squiggly palatal rugae." "Can you see the posterior faucial pillars?" "No, just the anterior. Darn." And, "Wow, your uvula looks weird."

That's what happens when you get the two of us together! Good thing the semester's almost over- we should probably not be allowed to ever take anatomy classes again.

Proof of love

Is it really only Tuesday? Feels a bit like a Thursday. I'm waiting for Tyler to be done with his test so I can go pick him up from campus! I'm so excited to see him. Yesterday we went to campus and spent an hour studying together before our classes started- but after that, I didn't see him until 10:00! Yes, that's PM! Such a bummer. He had to work late to help out with a project, and once he got home, he had to keep studying hard for the test he's taking right now! I tried to wait up for him, but fell asleep reading. Then he went to work early this morning again, and I barely woke up in time to kiss him goodbye. I miss my man! Today's devotional speaker (Pres. Osguthorpe, Sunday School General President- GO READ THAT TALK) was great. He spoke about love! But more specifically, he talked about being motivated by love. I couldn't stop thinking about Tyler, and how everything he does is motivated by his love for me, our future kids, and everyone around him. What a great man I married! I am so lucky.


On Sunday we went to a cousin party with some of my family! It was a blast. We love being with family, and right now there are so many cousins going to BYU! It's really fun to get together.

I went running today and it felt wonderful! I'm not sure it will feel so wonderful tomorrow when I'm hobbling around campus, but I'm glad I went anyway. Warmer weather is coming! I can feel it!! And I love it!!

Apparently,

someone said something funny. Seriously, click on it- everyone behind us is laughing too!

I love the setting that changes my background picture every few minutes. Reminds me often of this, my greatest memory and favorite day. Ever.

A little free advertising

One of the things I look forward to when we go home for the summer is having access to Blue Bell Ice Cream. I've been on 3 tours of the factory, and could tell you almost as much as the tour guides! :) Eating other ice cream just doesn't cut it anymore for me.

HOWEVER. There is one kind of ice cream that I can eat by itself that doesn't make me pine for Blue Bell:


*Yes, I was eating out of the carton. Sometimes you just gotta!

There are lots of wonderful things about this ice cream: cheap brand=cheap price, perfect amount of chocolate goodness in every bite, and there's little peanut butter surprises everywhere! Do I sound like a commercial yet? I love this stuff. Too bad I finished it off....

time March-es on

In my Artic class today, I went to start a new section of notes by typing in the date. Usually I just start typing the month, and press enter because my computer fills in the date for me. I went to type in Feb- and nothing happened. Tried again, still nothing but February showed up. Then I realized- it's MARCH! I really can't believe it. February is usually my least favorite month as far as weather and school goes, but it has flown by, and hasn't been half bad either.

Professor James Brau gave the devotional today (I definitely recommend reading or watching it online, by the way- it was great) and he said some things that are making me think. He talked about the difference between being a student and being a learner, and how part of BYU's motto is, "Enter to LEARN," not study. I think this semester I haven't done as well at really studying and learning- I feel like I'm just walkin' around, putting out fires as they come up and not really absorbing. It's a hard habit to break while taking 17 credits and working, but I really want to do better. I want to feel that same excitement that I felt last semester about going to my classes and sharing what I learn.

Anyway, I'm SO glad it's March. The sun was so warm today, I sat outside while waiting for Tyler's class to get out and it felt amazing. I was craving fruit so badly- good thing we had leftover strawberries and bananas from crepe night! I made a delicious smoothie. Yum. In the winter (S.A.D. time) I just crave carbs and chocolates, but when the sun's out I want fruit and salad! Hooray for the healthier, happier me.

p.s. We're proud to be Cougs!

Oh crepe!

Can't believe the weekend is already over! But luckily the weeks fly by- the weekend will be here again before we know it. Giselle and I crocheted flowers together on Friday, and ate our weight in grapes. :) I LOVE grapes. The boys lost their basketball game, but played really well and it was fun to watch. Tyler and I didn't do much that night- I really don't even remember if we did anything. Those nights are so nice sometimes, just to relax and do a little bit of nothing.

Saturday I made our meal plan for the next week and went to the grocery store, and we went to Kim and Nick's to watch the BYU game. Holy moly Cougars! Way to play! It was such a fun game to watch. We ate lots of pizza and chips and cookies. I did some cleaning in the afternoon and Tyler did lots of homework (he's got a big test week coming up) and I wrote my Mission Prep paper. We had Laura and Dan over for dinner- happy birthday to both of them! Laura's visiting for the weekend from Rexburg. We had enchiladas and they were yummy, if I may say so myself. :) Tyler and I watched Casino Royale after they left to go to a party. Poor guy was probably SO sick of chick flicks!

This morning was a pretty lazy one. I tried to start my Independent Study class (Living Prophets- so excited to take it) but then realized I hadn't kept the manual from last time I took it. By the way, shouldn't I only have had to take it once? Apparently the Church isn't as true in Idaho, according to BYU. Lame. Anyway, Laura went to Church with Dan and I didn't see her again before she left to go back up to Idaho. Tyler and I planned our lesson and I did some reading. The kids were good today- there were just 2 of them in class so it was really quiet. We talked about the priesthood and I thought they were both very interested and really learning, until I heard Anna report to her mom, "We played the statues game in class today!" No more games to get our wiggles out I guess. :) I took a much-needed bath and nap after church and then began making crepes for dinner! We had Randall and Crystal over for crepes, Amazing Race, and they brought a new game, Dixit. It was a very culturally-enriching evening with a French dinner and game. We had a great time.

This week will be a fairly calm one for me, but Tyler will be super-busy. Good time for me to show our apartment some love (the cleaning kind) and start prep for the 2 tests I have next week. Here's to getting ahead!

Because we're friends

I really need to be studying right now. Tomorrow is my last day to take my Articulation Disorders test, and I have not done much studying. But when I have 2 overlapping tests and a quiz, whadaya expect?? There will be life after this week though... I'm 87% sure.

I should be honest. Part of the real reason I'm not studying right now is because it's my turn on Tyler's and my game of Words With Friends. Coolest iPod app ever. We play all day every day (when I remember to charge my iPod anyway...), and someday I'm going to win. For real. But for now, I have no idea what to do with the letters A-A-V-O-D-E-V. I'm S-T-U-C-K.

Tyler and I took a little much-needed break yesterday afternoon to play tennis. I wanted to because the sun was shining, and Tyler wanted to because he's trying to master a one-handed backhand. It felt so great to be outside! I'm really super ready for spring. Unfortunately, I can hear a big storm coming outside as I type. I have my Valentine's Day hearts still hanging on the door, and the wind is blowing them around like crazy. It sounds like someone's trying to get in my house when they scrape against the door! Maybe I will take them down.

Tomorrow the Dunkin' and Covenants have another game. I love watching them play! And Giselle and I have a fun secret date planned for this weekend too- surprises are so fun to plan! We'll be watching the BYU basketball game with Kim and Nick on Saturday, and we're way excited for that. Also, this weekend will be full of Church stuff. I have a paper to write for Mission Prep, a Living Prophets class to start (Independent Study), and almost 200 pages to read in the Book of Mormon before March 8. Heidi challenged us to read it from cover to cover in 60 days, and that clock is ticking fast!

We had an awesome guest lecturer in my Language Disorders in Kids class today, Silvia Allen. She really changed my whole perspective on speech therapy and what I'm trying to learn how to do and be. Anyway, she shared this quote with us, which I hadn't read/heard in a long time: "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Just somethin' I've been thinking about today. Peace out, friends.