Happy Holidays

These past couple weeks we have been able to have lots of fun celebrating the holidays. This Thanksgiving we celebrated two days in a row by first going to the zoo with our nieces and nephews and then by celebrating with lots of food!! I made two recipes, my green bean casserole (a yearly tradition), and a new one, Meatballs! And my friend introduced me to the recipe for the meatballs, it includes chili sauce, and grape jelly! I know what you are thinking, I thought that same thing, but trust me, its amazing. I went to a pot luck at school and my friend made the meatballs. I couldn't get enough of them and when I asked her for the recipe that is what she told me. At first I thought she was joking, but no, she was serious! So she told me to try it at home, and I did just that. The recipe is super easy.

-1 bag of meatballs (I used frozen meatballs with the original style)
-1 can chili sauce (Heinz brand. You'll find it next to the ketchup)
-1 jar grape jelly

After a couple attempts at making it, I found it is best to premix the two sauces before you add the meatballs. To speed up the process, I warmed (not all the way, just a little bit so they weren't frozen) the meatballs in a saucepan, and the sauces in another, and then combined them in a crockpot to let simmer for about 3 hours. It soooo yummy, and adds a really tangy flavor. And I promise it is not spicy, the grape jelly seems to balance the chili sauce out. I recommend anyone who wants an easy yet filling meal to try it. And the plus side, tons of leftovers! :) I was a slacker and didn't take any pictures, but here are pictures other people have taken.

Also, we are very excited to come back to Utah to visit for Christmas. It almost didn't happen, but after some negotiating with my management at work, we are officially coming! We are both so excited to go see my family, I can't even put into words how much I miss them. It is extremely hard being away from them for so long. I am also extremely excited to finally meet my niece Isa for the first time, and also my best friend Chelsie's baby, Brylie. I hope they are both ready for tons of cuddles from me, they are in for a bunch!

Have a great day!~Meghan

Graduation!!!

I am done!!! Oh so done!!!! Phew! Glad that is over with. After three years to get my first associates, and then another two years to graduate for Cosmetology, I am finally done. This Monday we did a mini graduation party at my school because we won't be walking until May. My teachers invited our friends and family, and they did a lovely video showing a bunch of our pictures from throughout the program. It was crazy how much my hair has changed, it was long and curly, and now its straight, short, and highlighted. Everyone thought it was funny because no one recognized me at first in the pictures, its been such a change. But I was pleased that Micah and his parents came to support me, and I got my certificate of completion. My teachers took a group photo of our class all waiting to get our certificates, and here is the picture. You can see me in the third row, third from the left.


I am so glad that all the girl drama, the frustrations of learning, and the homework are done. But at the same time I will really miss those girls. When you spend 7 hours a day, 4-5 days a week, for almost two years, you grow pretty close. I could not have asked for a better experience or for better people to share it with. Congrats all grads!!!!
Have a great day!~Meghan

Silver Lining

There always seems to be something standing in my way of updating my blog. Whether I have lost the cord to plug in my camera, or even lost the camera itself, or I may just feel like I have no time. So my apologies for not updating sooner, I need to step it up. lol.

Micah and I have had an interesting couple of months. To kick it off, we have moved, again. This is now our 5th home in 4 years. But oh well, whatever works. We like it, it is in some ways the biggest place we have lived so far, but it is one of the cheapest too, which I LOVE. We live in a 4-plex, on the end unit, and we have our own fenced in back yard, which the dogs love. Its not the fanciest of places, but it is what we need right now, so we are happy. We also just celebrated our 4th anniversary this Sep, and we can't believe how much time has flown by! Its been a fun journey so far. :)

Also, for my own update, I am almost done with school. My last day of class is on Nov 14 (two weeks away!), and then I will be testing to get my license over the next month after that. I am at a strange standpoint in my life right now. I have been to a lot of places that are potential employers, but I am starting to get the feeling that none of them are wanting to hire right now. On top of that, my current employer is going through an entire change in the staffing, so everything seems to be up in the air. So I feel like I am being thrown off of my comfort bubble. Everything is about to change in the next two months, and I guess what I am feeling right now is confusion. I don't really know what exactly I want to do right now. Do I want to go back to school again and get my massage therapy license to add to my resume? Do I want to look for work in cosmetology, or do I want to just work in optical? Or, do I want to try teaching dance? I feel like there are so many choices, and I don't know quite what to do with myself. There is a girl in my class at school who applied to work at Disney and just got hired, and I am so jealous that I didn't think of it first. lol. There are two other girls in my class that are opening up their own special occasion company, which is an idea I've had to do for a long time. I am not much of a competitive person, so I get nervous competing for positions and careers. I also struggle with putting myself out there, I guess I'm afraid I will get hurt, but I think I need to really take a look at what I want and just do it. The question is, what do I want? (Once I find out I'll let you guys know.)

For Micah, he is getting into a really good place for his career, he finally got his foot in the door at the hospital, and he is really excited about it. Being at the hospital, is also putting him in the position to meet people higher up, so that next time another position opens he will already have a heads up for applying. I'm very proud of him at how hard he works.

Right now I feel that although life is crazy and busy working 12-13 hour days every day, I still have a lot to be grateful for. We are both healthy, and we are happy. All too often I see people who don't have such luxuries and I become more grateful that I do. I am married to a wonderful man who loves me and treats me well. I couldn't ask for more. :)

Last night we attended a Halloween party, and we dressed as Harry and Hermionie. Here is a pic. :)

Have a great day!~Meghan

Sunday Dinner

Today Micah and I were making dinner after church and a Sparrow flew into our apartment! I tried to direct it outside, but I ended up scaring it even more so I finally started to leave it alone and it flew out the door again. And then after that Micah was trying to clean up some oil that spilled with a paper towel and it caught on fire from being too close to the burner. It was a crazy way to make dinner. But it ended up being super delicious so it was all worth it. We made Chicken Alfredo, Garlic Bread, and Spinach salad.

I learned a recipe for an amazing salad, that I never thought I would like, but now I love:
Its a Spinach Salad, you take baby Spinach, sprinkle Feta cheese in there, and Sweet Vidalia Onion dressing, and just toss it all together. It is absolutely amazing. And very healthy.
Normally I don't like fresh spinach, but in this salad, I can't get enough. Try it, you'll love it!

Have a great day! ~Meghan

Micah the Amazing

So for those of you who don't know yet, Micah has been laid off in his job at EZ Money. Looks like they had to shut down his whole store and they did not have any management positions open so he had to be laid off. (Don't worry though, he already has a new job) Well Micah, being the skilled and talented man that he is got his boss to approve giving us the desk from his office that they no longer have a place for. So now we have a hardwood desk for free that would normally cost us several hundred dollars! And on top of that they also gave us their nice office chair as well! Here is a picture of the desk in our beautiful office. :)

Have a great day!~Meghan

Only in Pueblo

I went to lunch today with my in laws and as we were walking out I saw a full blown pepper in the parking lot! It was hilarious!

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Homemade Icecream!

Hello Friends!
So this year our stake is heading off to Wyoming for the handcart trek! In our small little branch, I have 1 young woman who will be attending, and so my goal has been to get her extra excited to go on the trek. So my first attempt was to find a recipe that we could make homemade icecream with, and even though this exact recipe did not turn out to be authentic, it was still very fun and delicious. And the best part? It is super fast and very easy!!!! It takes all of about 10 mim to make, and I just have to say, this is the best ice cream I have ever had! Here is the recipe:

Homemade Icecream in a Bag: (serves 1)

-2 tablespoons sugar

-1 cup half and half

-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (which I actually did a full 1 tsp.)

-1/2 cup salt (the bugger the granules, the better, Kosher or rock salt works best, but table salt is fine. ~I just used table salt)

-Ice Cubes, enough to fill about half a gallon size ziploc bag

-1 pint size Ziploc bag (the tougher the seal and plastic the better)

-1 gallon size Ziploc bag

You will start by combining the sugar, half and half, and vanilla extract all into the pint size ziploc bag. The directions did not call for it, but I found that quickly mixing everything in the bag made everything work a bit easier.

From there place the ice in the gallon size bag and pour the salt on top, and shake it up a bit. Then put the smaller bag inside the larger bag. (This is why it is important to have a tough bag because if you don't salt could get into the smaller bag and ruin the icecream. I used the bags that zip-lock closed and had no problems)

Seal up the larger bag and shake the bags until the mixture hardens (about 5-7 min). You will be able to feel the smaller bag to determine when its done. Take the smaller bag out of the larger one, add any mix ins you want, and you can eat the icecream straight out of the bag.

Have a great day!~Meghan

A Sweet Farewell to Kiki

Oh my dear Kiki, we have been through so much together, we have driven for miles, and we have hit many milestones. You were there when I first learned how to drive a manual, and you were there when I graduated high school. You carried my belongs to my first apartment when I moved out, and you drove me around when I needed to contemplate my life. You saw me get married and you endured me taking you through all kinds of rain, slush, and snow when we moved to Colorado. You have carried all my loads whether as an emotional teenager who needed a breather drive, or as an emotional adult who needs a breather drive. Through thick and thin you were always there for me and you have witnessed many terrible and wonderful moments throughout my life. I owe you so many 'thank yous' and 'i love yous' because to me you are not just a car, you were my first car. You will never be replaced in my heart! So Goodbye and Farewell.....I love you Kiki! :)



Have a great day!~Meghan

Isa Paige Dallon

Hello my friends! I apologize for not posting more often these last couple months. I have a big announcement though, my newest niece was born! Her name is Isa Paige Dallon, and she was born on the 15th. She weighs 8 lbs and is 19 inches long. I really wish I could have been there to see her be born, that is probably the hardest part about being in Colorado for me. I miss all the big events in my family. But even still, I was very excited and still was able to call my brother Brandon and his wife Xilvia while they were in the hospital there and give them my best wishes. I got a few pictures that they had posted on Facebook, here they are! (You'll notice she has dark hair, we're all crossing our fingers that her hair stays super dark!)

This is Ashe and Mia my other niece and nephew, holding their new little sister.

Have a great day!~Meghan

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Rye

Micah and I have our first non sunday day off together today. So we decided to go to rye colorado. These are our nephews timmy and tommy.

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