The Three B's....Birthdays, Baseball, and Buys!

Hello my friends!
So I need to update you guys on what has been going on in our lives! I completely had forgotten to post about my birthday to you guys, and so I need to make up for that. And then I also had a couple really neat buys lately and I wanted to show you that too! So here we go!

Yesterday, I went to a local thrift store and found some great buys! Everything that had a white tag were only a dollar! So I got myself a couple miscellaneous items, as well as 5 shirts, all for a grand total of $21! I know that fall is coming soon, so my shirts were either long sleeve or close to it!
Also, I have decided to redecorate my living room! I am trying to save money with the whole do-it-yourself idea. I made my own pillows, which on one side is black and white, and the other is Navy Blue, and then I am in the process of making curtains. I made one of the two layers so far, it is a crushed white and I love it because it is so billowy! Next I will make the tan portion that is the heavier outside of the curtain which I'll have pulled aside in the day time, but closed at night. And then all that will be left is to paint the room a lighter shade of blue.


For my 22nd birthday, Micah and I had a blast, we started by going to the Denver temple to watch the family sealing of some great friends of ours, Marco y Susana to their two children, Tony y Sammie. It was a very special thing to have on the morning of my birthday, and it really set the mood for the day. It is amazing what the spirit can do for you!

That evening, we met up with Micah's parents and went to my first Rockie's game! It was sooo much fun! We were sitting so close that it felt like we were on the field! And it was a nail-biter! We were yelling and screaming up until the last second, it was absolutely amazing. Micah also got me my first Major League hot dog. It was really yummy!!! Then as it got dark, being there in Coors Field was a great view of the sky. The colors got so beautiful I just had to post pictures of all of it!


Have a great day!
~Meghan

Girls Camp/Update

Hey!!!
So Saturday I got home from my second year at Girls Camp as a leader. It was so much fun! We were one of the first groups to use the brand new site, Camp Joseph. It was such an amazing camp, you could feel the spirit everywhere we went. Our theme this year was Jesus Christ, and Living like you Believe. It totally rocked my socks off! Every single thing we did was so fun and so spiritual I felt like I had been crying all week. And then on top of it the camp itself was BEAUTIFUL. Our branch combined with the Mesa ward and so my two girls and the other seven girls were all together in our campsite. It was really fun getting to know the other ward and we just had a blast together. I will include a slide of pictures at the end of the post.

Also, as just a regular update, Micah and I are loving life right now. I have started the Cosmetology program at PCC, and I am loving every minute of it! It is what I look forward to each week. I am scheduled to continue with school until Jan 2012, and then I will be all done and ready for work! Micah has still got his 4.0 in his Hospital Administration program as well, and he is trying to juggle all that with work, church, and home responsibilities. We are two very busy little bees, but we make time for each other. We had a lot of fun with Birdie the last couple of weeks, first she had her first groom, which was amazing because they de-shed her. And then a day or two later I noticed one of her lymphnodes was enlarged, so we took her to the vet and got some meds for her. She is doing fine now, but that was not a fun little scare. We had some fun dressing her up in my pillowcase too, she loved her little cape I made her. We decided those pictures will be named, SUPER PUPPY!!!!

Have a great day!~Meghan

Temple Trip!

Micah and I got the chance to take our two young women to the Denver temple to do baptisms! It was such a beautiful day, and we absolutely loved it! It was also my fellow leader Susana's first time ever going, so it was really special! Here are some of the pictures!

Have a great day!~Meghan

Excited

Hello everyone!
Instead of posting about my food goals update I decided to just post about my everyday happenings this time! I am very excited because of 2 things. One, Micah just finished this semester with flying colors again, and two, I start school on Friday! YAY! All I am waiting on is to buy my books, which I will do our first day of class, for my scrubs to arrive, and for my student loans to go through. I have everything else completed!!! I'm so excited to start Cosmetology, its a year program and then I will be able to work in a job I really love! I'm super excited and looking forward to it!
Have a great day!
~Meghan

Guess what I found!? Weeks 14 & 15 And EASTER!

Hey everyone!!!
I finally found my cord to connect my camera to my computer!!! Everything gets lost in a move, but I actually found it! So here are some updated pictures from the last couple of weeks. And then I have the last 2 weeks to post about too!!!
First, pictures from before:
Week 11 Mint Swirl Cookies, very easy! And Yummy!

Week 12 White Clam pasta

Week 13 (MY FAVORITE: Dark Chocolate Lava Cakes!!!)
Second, I need to post about weeks 14 and 15:

For week 14, I made Chicken in Pan Sauce. It didn't quite turn out the way I planned, because I thought I had whipping cream, but I only had half and half. So Micah and I ran to the store next door to get some, and they didn't have any, then by the time we got back, the food had burned a little. Still I do have to say, it wasn't too bad.

And then for week 15, I loved the food. I made Beef Stroganof, or however you spell it, and it was very tasty! And it only took 30 min to make from start to finish! You start with trimming the beef into slices for bite size strips. When you finish that, you mix an entire 8-ounce carton of sour cream in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons flour, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and 2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon granules. Then just let that sit aside.

After that is all done, you will cook meat, 2 cups mushrooms, 1 clove minced garlic, and 2 tablespoons butter all together until it is done. (It takes about 5 min). Then stir in that mixture you had set aside until thick, and then serve over noodles.

Its really easy, and it is sooo yummy! Especially because I love that hint of flavor of the sour cream, I LOVE sour cream, so that was pretty dang good! Here are a few pics! The last one is of the noodles, I tried them for the first time, and they are great!


And third, we had a major holiday this past week, EASTER!!!!
We first had the Elders over to the house to have Rootbeer floats after the Priesthood session on Saturday, and we did some egg dyeing. And it turned out that none of them had ever had a root beer float, or dyed eggs before! So that was pretty fun!
Micah and I went up to his family's house in Rye for Easter day, and we had a fun little Easter Egg hunt for the babies, Micah got a couple cute pictures for you!

Have a great day!
~Meghan

Weeks 11-13 and More!

HOLY COW! What a crazy couple of weeks! Well, as I am sure you all know, Micah and I moved! We have been going crazy and running around like none other trying to find a new place, and we finally found it! It is a cute little house near the stake center, school, and Micah's work. Oh! Did I mention Micah got a new job!? Ya, he got a new job and he loves it!!!! Lol. Anyway, the landlord so far has been totally awesome, and we are so excited! In the craziness of it all, I have not had any free time to post on the blog about my weekly goals. I have been taking pictures and trying to make sure I still complete them, but now that we have moved, I have lost the cord to connect the camera to the computer. So I am just going to tell you what I made, and hopefully I will find it soon.

So for week 11, I made these chocolate swirl cookies. They are incredibly delicious and easy! I took those melty mints and put some in the center of each cookie, and it really made the difference. I will be sure to post the recipe when I post the pictures eventually for that one.

Then for week 12, I made a white clam sauce pasta, and that was OK. Micah liked it much more than I did, which I was surprised about, because I LOVE clams. But it was good enough I might try it again with my own touches.

Then for week 13, I made dark chocolate lava cakes. OH MY GOODNESS, these are amazing!!!! I think that I really love chocolate or something because it seems as though everything I bake is delicious! These are kind of tricky, but they are worth it in the end, even if you end up with a pile of goo on your plate.

I have all the pictures on my camera, I just need to knuckle down and find the cord so that I can post them!

Anyway, other than all that mess, there really isn't a whole lot to post about. I already touched on Micah's new job, which is the Manager at EZ Money Payday Loans, and the ever so famous move. I guess other than that I am just trying to get myself all ready for Cosmetology. I'm pretty excited about it, and I have completed most of the things I need to be ready for Day 1 (May 7th). Birdie is doing great, except she has discovered a way to get out of the back yard, and I still don't know where that spot is. But we'll find it!

Love you all!
Have a great day!
~Meghan

Weeks 9 & 10

Ok so I'm a slacker, and I have not posted anything for the past 2 weeks! I have completed my weekly goals, just I have not been able to post anything!
Well for week 9 I made Catfish. I took the fillets and dipped them first in flour, then I dipped them in a mix of dijon mustard, egg, and some other ingredients, and then I covered them in crushed pretzles. After that I fried them in oil for about 4 min on each side and they turned out very delicious!!! Here are the pics for that.

Then for week 10 I made Lemon Mustard Chicken. I broiled the pieces for about 15 min, then I coated them with a mustard and lemon juice mixture, and broiled them on each side for about 5 more min. They were pretty yummy, but a little chewy. Here are the pictures for that too!

Have a great day!
~Meghan

Week 8

Week 8 is very late.
I completed my task for my YW class last Thursday, but I have been so incredibly crazy I have not had a second to even post any pictures. I don't even have much time to do the post now either, so I'm just going to tell you what I did and post a few pictures. When I finish Week 9 tomorrow, I will hopefully be able to post again on Sunday so you can get more detail.

So I made Cream Cheese Lemon Bars, and they were AMAZING!!! I will definitely need to post the recipe, because this is one that everyone should do. Here are a couple pics:




Have a great day!
~Meghan

Week 7 and Micah's 25th Birthday!!!

So for week 7 I made an Artichoke Dip for the Super Bowl! Micah was additionally excited because his team won, but we would have been happy with either one. I personally did not enjoy my Artichoke Dip, but everyone else seemed to like it. They ate all of it within about an hour. hahahaha. I think I was expecting it to turn out more like the Spinach Artichoke Dip you get at Chilies or something, and so I was disappointed when it did not. But here is what I did!

I started out by taking 2 cans of Artichoke hearts and chopped them up, then I mixed them in a bowl with 2 cups Mayo, a dash of hot sauce, 2 cloves minced Garlic, and 2 cups of Parmesan Cheese. You can add some Papaya for seasoning, and then bake it for about 40 min (or until it looks done) at 300 degrees!
Badda Bing Badda Boom and you are Done!

It turns out rather yellowish, and it looks gross, but apparently it tastes yummy! Next time I try this, I'll look for one with Spinach in it!

As for Micah's Birthday, we went to Denver and spent the day up there playing games with his sisters and the babies! We had lots of fun just relaxing and finally putting our TomTom to use. I got Micah a new game called the Game of Things. It is more of a grown up game, but it is pretty fun!!!! I saw the commercials on TV and it looked hilarious, so I decided this would be a fun one to do. We played with only 4 people, but we all agreed that it would be even more fun with a larger group. Here are a bunch of pics from the trip! I love you baby!

Have a great day!
~Meghan

Week 6 & Update

Hey my friends!
So as far as an update goes, I have received the calling of Young Womens President of the San Carlos branch. Yay!!! I am very nervous, but also very excited. We only have about 5 girls who are active, but as Elder Nelson told us, membership in the area is going to start booming. So I'm expecting the branch to grow quickly. I have two awesome councilors, my first councilor actually is named Megan, and she grew up with Micah, so that is fun. She and I get along really well, and I am excited about the friendship that is sure to grow. And my second councilor is a covert of 6 years, and she is from Mexico City, and she is learning English, quickly. She is absolutely amazing. Every time I look at her I just want to go up to her, just so that I can be in her presence. She is one of those women who you want to be like, and I absolutely love her, even though I barely know her.

Also, I dyed my hair! I went BLACK! Crazy, I know. Its actually a little too dark for me, but the plan is to have it dark like this and then let it fade to my natural color of dark brown. I've had a bunch of compliments on it, but you never know if they really mean it. lol. Hopefully I haven't been walking around looking like a clown!

For Week 6 I made Creole Chicken Breasts with Crab and Artichoke Stuffing. Holy cow YUM! It was delicious. I got the recipe from Rachael Ray's All-Occasion Cookbook for 30 Min Meals.

It was really yummy, and very easy. I took 2 shallots, chopped them up, 1 rib of celery from the heart, chopped it up, and sauted them together in extra virgin olive oil (evoo) for a couple min, then added a can of drained and chopped artichoke hearts. After, I added crab meat and then cubed up buttered toast. You keep stirring everything around pretty much until the toast gets moist like stuffing. Then added a couple seasonings, salt pepper and bay seasoning. Then remove that from the heat!Then you take the chicken cutlets and put some small mounds of the mixture you just made in the center, and roll up the chicken (pin it closed with toothpicks). Then put some more evoo in a new pan and fry both sides of the chicken for about 2-3 min on each side until brown.

After, you take them out, and set aside. You make the Creole sauce by putting some butter and evoo in the pan, add dry sherry (I used Grape Juice :) ), and cook it over medium heat until its reduced by half (usually takes about 1 or 2 min). Add a half cup of chicken broth and let it boil. Then add some cornstarch so it will thicken and stir! Now you can place the chicken back in the pan and cover it for about 5 min until fully cooked! Ta Da! You're Done! You have a VERY TASTY meal that was quick and easy! Enjoy it!




Have a great day!
~Meghan

Week 5 (a little late)

Well I completed week 5 of my goal, but I'm a little late with posting it. We completed the goal last Saturday, and now its almost time to do week 6! Ahh! hahahaha. Well I did homemade pizza for the week. We made the dough and everything from scratch. And then I added a little touch of my own and turned the dough into cheesy crust. I love it when there is cheese inside!!! It turned out absolutely delicious, and it only took about an hour to do all of it! Here are the pictures!!!! Have a great day!

~Meghan