Saturday Shooting Range

Okay, so most blogs I read involve stories of my friends' kids doing crazy stuff and getting captured on camera. I really enjoy these kind of posts- it reminds me not to take things too seriously. If you ever want a good laugh, there is a mom who I found that does a blog called the "meanest mom" and it is hilarious! : http://themeanestmom.blogspot.com/ .

Anyways, I usually don't have funny stuff like that to share because it's just Scott and I right now and we don't have kids doing crazy things yet. But I kind of felt like I had come home to a 6 year-old boy the other day...
I work Saturday mornings from 6am to whenever catering orders get done ( I cut vegetables and fruit all morning pretty much). So Scott gets to have Saturday mornings all to himself.

I'll come home and sometimes he'll have the whole apartment spotless- bathroom cleaned and everything.  Sometimes he'll make a really good lunch or brunch for me to come home to. Sometimes he just decided to sleep in and I'll come home while he's still in the shower. None of these things have ever been out of the ordinary for me. Until the past 2 Saturdays- yes, not just one Saturday, the past two- which means this might become a tradition in our household...

Since it's winter and we sold our truck my poor husband has to resort to some indoor, inexpensive way for target practice. Here is his fortress on one side of the living room.


Here is his target. (Ingenious, really.)

My personal favorite part of all of this was he continued to scream "Die Quakers! Die!"... The quaker oats guy didn't stand a chance against Scott's BB gun.

What was nice was the cereal box caught all the BB's so it was an easy clean-up as well.

Gotta love a creative mind!

Waiting for Spring... !

So Scott and I are getting pretty darn tired of Rexburg right about now...  But we just decided we are going to stay here another 2.6 years until he is done with his BA (he has switched his degree to Agribusiness). I'm in the process of interviewing with jobs for after I graduate in July with my BA in Psych, so hopefully I'll find something that'll be rewarding for the next while.

But if anybody has any tips for ways to cope with living in a snowy hell for 7-8 months out of the year, we could really use em!  We are happy with each other of course and that is my saving grace while living here.

I shouldn't complain so much though- we've been doing a couple things lately to brighten up the crappy weather we have!

I recently dyed my hair to a lighter color and LOVE it! Having your hair done really helps you to remember to actually style it and try to look nice during the day. Here's a before and after shot: 

So that was fun. 

We've also been trying different foods and school snacks out lately. I made orange chicken curry yesterday with country-fried squash. Strangely wonderful...  We also just discovered "pepperjack crackers", and "oatmeal fudge stripe cookies"- both new on the market and received a 2-thumbs up from us!

 

I've been really proud of Scott lately- he's been a good example to me in persistence with working out. He does yoga pretty regularly now and I think he has a "man-crush" on the freakishly lean asian man wearing a speedo in the workout videos. I just bought Scott a yoga set for Valentines Day and he's loving it. ** Tip for people with sore backs and aches and pains---- Yoga works! Here's the guy Scott loves: 

....... This pretty much speaks for itself....

So those are just a few of our everyday "pick-me-ups" that seem to work for us. Any more suggestions would be great! 

Lonely, Lazy Thursdays...

    On Thursdays, I see Scott for dinner and that is pretty much it. He then goes back to school for a night class 7-10pm.  Today one of my classes was canceled, which means I got home at 10:30am.  It is now 1:30pm, and I haven't gotten any homework done yet... BUT the kitchen is clean:)

It all started when I logged onto the book of face when I got home. I was looking for a message in my inbox and got distracted by that darn "news feed" that sucks me in so often.  I saw that it was my good friend Rachel's birthday! Since she is one of the few friends from Portland that live here in Rexy, I thought it would be a nice gesture to make something for her birthday.  I started by making a card. Here is the picture I decided to make for it. I was going for creepy and funny at the same time:)

Needless to say, I think she will be both delighted and scared.....

  

Well, I didn't stop there.  I decided I needed something to go with the card.  So, I hopped on to allrecipes.com- my personal fav, and some food blogs I like to try to find a good chocolate cake I could make for her.  I got distracted by homemade oreos and decided I would make those.  I forgot the sugar and didn't realize it till they were half-way done baking.... 

So with a newly lowered self-esteem and diminished pride, I whipped out some majorly fatty recipes. After about 3 hours of surfing the net, printing out a creepy card, and wasting 1/2 a cup of Hershey's cocoa powder, I picked this little gem to make: Chocolate Peanut Butter Icecream Pie. It took 20 minutes. 

I used 1 qt of Reeses icecream, 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter, bits of a hershey bar- and creamed it all together in my freaking awesome kitchen aid.  Then I dumped it into a homemade chocolate graham cracker crust (so easy to make), and added whipped cream, chocolate sauce and peanuts on top.                     

Am I a good friend or what?

I'm such a good friend:) ... Until I realized, if Scott knows I made this and gave it away without even letting him sample it, I'm not sure he would ever talk to me again. This thing just SCREAMS Scott. 

So.... I'm giving her the card and a glass bottle of rootbeer we have in the fridge.... so lame.  I'm gonna go get started on homework now.

"A Bouquet of Newly Sharpened Pencils"

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address."  This has to be one of my favorite movie quotes  (You've Got Mail) and with all the excitement of a new semester starting, I think back to sharpened pencil bouquets.

       

  Even though I start a new semester every four months, I still feel that excitement every time another one rolls around. Of course it wares off after about three days and then I start to dread the alarm sounding off at 5am everyday.  But I still have to give the "back to school" magic the attention it deserves since it has been apart of my life for so long. 

   The back to school rush makes me want to buy mechanical pencils, sharpies, fancy page dividers, and printer paper. I secretly feel a twinge of pleasure while reading a new syllabus.  I feel like giving my teacher an apple, buying myself a new pair of shoes, and wearing my hair up a little more often.  I guess I just prefer all the changes that go on every so often- it's like a breath of fresh air.  I also love meeting my new classmates and teachers each semester.       
       
 I went to one class recently where the students went around the room introducing themselves.  One girl did a river dance for the entire class (in snow boots nonetheless). Another girl didn't have a social security number till she was eight because her mom forgot about it. Another guy used to be morbidly obese (he pulled out a picture from his wallet and showed us all), and another girl had been to 20 countries in three months....  That was just in one class. You just can't beat that.  
      
  It's my second to last semester here at BYUI and I'm trying to soak up everything I can while it lasts. I really enjoy my professors- I had no idea you could travel to so many places, hold so many degrees, have so many kids, and still only be 50 or 60 years old! The psych faculty is full of brilliant scholars, who are all so anxious to share their love of learning with you. I'm starting to catch on now and it's a good feeling to love learning. 

       

 Lastly and most importantly, Scott's birthday is tomorrow. I asked him a million times what he wants to do and three days before his birthday he finally told me he just wants to have the two of us do an Adam Sandler movie marathon and a birthday dinner- he chose brats on the grill, rootbeer in glass bottles, and potato chips with dip.  -- That's my kind of man! So tomorrow after a long day of classes, we'll curl up and laugh to the brilliant lines from "The Water Boy", "Billy Madison", and "Happy Gilmore".  If it sounds boring to you, just think of it as a six-hour cuddle-fest!  

       

I'm so happy to have Scott in my life. He brings me up everyday and makes me realize how blessed we are to be together forever.  I love his quirky sense of humor, his love for adventures, his supportive and understanding attitude, and his gentle, sensitive heart that has so much capacity to love. He is my best friend and I wouldn't have my life any other way than with him.  Happy Birthday and Back-to-School Week Scott! 

Merry Christmas!

     Merry Christmas everyone! Scott and I have enjoyed the season so much this far! We are leaving the day after tomorrow to go to Utah and be with the Peacocks!  I can't wait to see beautiful baby Mona and the rest of my family, I miss them so much around the holidays.

     Scott and I have had such a great time getting ready for Christmas! We bought a 4 ft, pre-lit, fake "Indiana Spruce" at the Walmart, and hung candy canes on it. We built graham cracker gingerbread houses with his cousin's family in Shelley.  We've had lots of friends come over and bring us treats, and have made lots of treats for friends!  We put up Christmas lights in the window and have the radio station preset to Christmas music 24/7 now. We have had so much fun this season and have started some new traditions for our little family. We have decided that one of our traditions will be serving others.

    Even though this is the "hap, hap, happiest season of all", there are a surprising number of people who are lonely, overworked, stressed out, and depressed.  We want Christmas to be about lightening the load of another as Christ would have done, and loving those who especially need a little extra kindness in their lives. I can't say enough how much happier I have felt since we have started looking for ways to serve others. I have to say one of my favorite service projects was cutting down a tree and leaving it on our neighbors' doorstep because they weren't going to get a tree this year.  Another fun one, was letting my friend who has three kids go out with her husband to go Christmas shopping all day long while I babysit (they were so cute).

Scott and I have been blessed with such great friends that take such good care of us all the time- it was so nice to be able to give back.  I know that serving others is something we really want to teach our kids, and show how much joy it can bring to both you and the people you serve.  And you don't have to spend any money to do it either! Sharing your talents, time, or even just a smile or kind word is enough to truly make another happy.

   A movie recommendation for Christmas time:

My mom and dad mailed us a great surprise for Christmas this year: The Nativity Story! It is one of my favorite Christmas movies- a newer one that came out in 2009.  It really brings out the reality of Christ's birth, and reminds me what a blessed miracle He is for all mankind.   Christmas should remind us all of this beautiful story of Christ's birth, and of Heavenly Father's love for us.  Scott and I are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives and I bear my testimony that Christ lives and loves us and that we can take part in the atonement and one day become like Him through His mercy and grace. Merry Christmas, and as President Monson always quotes after his Christmas Message: "God bless everyone!"

"A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on." -Carl Sandburg

   Jack Frost came for a visit to little Rexburg around the third week of November -and he is here to stay! We have had temperatures down to 4 degrees so far, and winter storm warnings just about every week!  We broke down after about the first week of snow and turned on the heaters- I can't imagine living without them!  The weather brings us a lot more quiet time inside now though- we just love snuggling up on the couch in our warm apartment, watching a movie while the snow is falling! 

  Well, BIG news this month:  My beautiful twin sister's baby was born October 29, 2010!  My first neice on my own side of our family, and wow was the Peacock family excited! I saw Mona Lynn Cope (yes her middle name is after muah!) for the first time during Thanksgiving break, and I don't think I've ever seen a more loved baby! At one point, there were four people kissing her at the same time! Above is a picture of the little bugger:  I love her so much, and I am so excited to see her grow!

  

  Luckily being married to Scott has already made me an auntie! I have three absolutely beautiful nephews and neices on his side of the family already and they are the coolest kids you will ever meet!

This little guy on the slide is Braden. He is quite possibly the most hilarious person I've ever met in my life, and he's only four. He says all his words with a "T" in front of it. I think my favorite is "Uncle Totty", instead of "Uncle Scotty"  :)

This little precious baby I haven't even met yet! His name is Mason and he was born a couple weeks before Mona, all I know about him is he looks a LOT like Braden and I pretty much want to give him lots of hugs and kisses...

This is Ava, and she is the cutest!!! She loves pigs, loves to eat, and loves everything girly.  Her parents are really going to have to watch out for her, she is absolutely gorgeous and her smile will break every little boy's heart!    One time she climbed up on my lap and told me I could share her princess pony with her with the sweetest little voice I've ever heard in my life- I am now permanently wrapped around her little finger!                                                                                                                                                                

I'm thankful for all of my nephews and neices, and our family and friends, and especially for the small acts of kindness they do that truly touch our lives.                              

Pancakes for Dinner and Other Nutritional Matters...

      It's been quite a while since my last posting, September flew by!  Scott got a job at a local dealership in town called "Madison Motor City" and has been working hard there detailing cars full-time this semester.  I am back at school and am trying to figure out the curriculum my professors are throwing at me.   We are happier and more in love than ever though- and much more sleepless since we broke down and upgraded to a king size bed recently:) We seem to have more fun together as time goes on in our marriage, and found some new hobbies to do around Rexburg like: hike "R" mountain, go for walks around the temple, play card games on our living room floor, and playing softball for our intramural team at BYUI. 


         But the best part about life right now, has to be that it is FALL!!!  I went for a run today and it is official. The leaves have changed. There are pumpkins in the store windows. And the "back-to-school savings" are all over the department stores.   If we were at my mom's house we would be guaranteed to smell the cinnamon she's set to simmer on the stove, and if we were at Scott's mom's house right now- she would just be starting to light the wood stove again.  This has to be my favorite time of year! And so as I was thinking all of these wonderful, seasonal sentiments as I ran around good old Rexburg, I wondered what would be a theme for Fall in our household.
 
       I love tradition and want to incorporate it in our family, so my mind has been reeling on this idea since my last 1/2 mile towards home.  I thought it over, and one of the most beloved fruits (literally) of fall has to be the apples! This time of the year they are the tastiest, not too mention the cheapest kind of produce around!  They are gorgeous in any color and apparently a good source of both soluble and insoluble fiber. So, my goal to keep this season's delectable harvest a part of our home will be to make something with apples once a week- for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and even just snacks!

           Starting off tonight, I've gathered up a recipe for "German Apple Pancakes"  for dinner!  Scott's never had German pancakes before so I thought it would be a good night to convince him with this ingenious idea I had!  I found the recipe off my favorite website: www.allrecipes.com, and decided to serve it with maple sausages and asian pears.  The verdict- the entire 9X13 was empty.  The apples were soft and coated in cinnamon, and totally complimented the light and fluffy "pancake" it covered.  The pan licked clean, I took that as a job well done!  Can't wait to see what we come up with next...