I love August Rush and Enchanted!

We bought August Rush, and Enchanted when they came out a few weeks ago. They are now my all time favorite movies, oh so good. I love the music and everything about the movies. One big thing is that they are not rated pg-13. I am a G and PG kind of girl. I could seriously watch Enchanted over and over and over again.



If you have not seen these movies, go rent and watch them. So good!!

My sister's sign in book.

This is my sisters sign in book I did for her wedding last June. It was fun to put together.

The paper I used was mostly from My Minds Eye, and also from Carolee's Creations, and Chatterbox. I also used Snippitz from Junkitz.

How fast can you type?

I warn you, once you start typing you will want to keep restarting to see if you can get a better score. I finally had to stop myself from my hand getting tired of typing. And I am sure there are many out there who can type faster than this.

65 words

Speed test

Have fun!

Crockpot Chicken Gravy

One of my favorite dinners is this Chicken Gravy
(although my sister would argue with me on the name).
You can serve it over rice, pasta, potatoes, or whatever you would like.
Delicious. Mmmmm.
It is a recipe from my Grandma A.

Crockpot Chicken Gravy

4 chicken breasts
salt and pepper
onion flakes
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 can broccoli cheese soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. cream cheese
1 pkg. Italian dressing
1/2 can water

Cut chicken breast into bite size pieces into a crockpot and add everything else. Cut cream cheese into little cubes.

Cook on high for 1 hour and then turn to low and cook for 3 to 4 hours.

Enjoy!!

I absolutely love this recipe!

The cottage cheese in this picture is mixed with rice, I love mixing my cottage cheese
and rice together, so goood!

My Sweet Grandma

My sweet Grandma passed away Monday morning after a long battle with cancer. It eventually just took over her entire body. I am sad, but glad she is out of pain, these last couple of weeks for her were very painful. I am sad that I was not able to see her and say good bye before she died. Rob was sick and I didn't want to leave him. So, I never really saw her when she was really sick, in a way I am glad I did not see her like that.
My Grandma and Grandpa are an example to me of love and kindness. I just love seeing them together.
We went to the funeral Thursday. We left at 8:00 and we picked up my Aunt and here son. It was a beautiful day. The viewing was at 11:00, when I went it to see her she was so peaceful. One thing I didn't know, was that she had lost a lot of her hair from radiation treatment and so she was wearing a wig. The funeral was very good, and for some reason I did not cry like I usually do at funerals. I don't know why.
After the funeral the Relief Society prepared a luncheon for us. Afterwards, we went back to my Grandparents house and talked and visited. I got to see a lot of relatives from California that we don't get to see very often. It was a good day. My grandpa is such a happy man, and he is doing very well through all of this, he is the kind of person that was comforting everyone else. Maybe that is why we all did so well, knowing my grandpa was okay with grandma passing, knowing he will see her again and that she is no longer in pain.
My grandma was a friend to everyone, she was everyone's grandma. She made everyone feel special and loved.
Some of the things I remember about my Grandma:
She collected glass paper weights, the ones with beautiful designs inside them. I got one as a white elephant gift one time and gave it to her. The coffee table in her front room is where they found there home.
My grandma and grandpa would always come Christmas Eve, and we would have Christmas Eve dinner with them and my Aunt and her kids. Then my grandma and grandpa would stay the night and watch us open presents in the morning. It was so fun having them there.
She loved decorating for the holidays, especially Valentines and Halloween. Her birthday was around Valentines Day and my grandpa's was around Halloween. We used to go over and have dinner with all our relatives to celebrate their birthdays and I loved seeing all the decorations.
She always had her jewelry on, earrings and necklace every time we saw her, and she had a ring on almost every finger. She was a very colorful lady.
There are so many memories, I am grateful for all the memories I do have and I will miss my grandma, but I will see her again. Love ya, Grandma!

These pictures of my grandma and grandpa were taken in 2005 at my wedding reception.

Homemade Pizza

I love Homemade Pizza, and this time it turned out really good. It doesn't take long to make and cook and it is so yummy. Before, my crust would always be soft, and I like mine crunchy.
My mom found this pizza pan at Wal-Mart, the holes on the bottom make the crust crunchy. You cannot make pizza without this pizza pan.

Mom's Pizza Dough:

Dissolve in 1/4 c. warm water:
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yeast

In a bowl combine:
1/2 c. milk scaulded
3/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. oil

Add yeast and sugar mixture and 1 3/4 c. flour (add enough so dough is not sticky)
Let rest for 15 minutes.

Roll out and place on pizza pan and add desired toppings.
Bake @ 375 for about 10-12 minutes. (My oven usually takes a little longer)

ENJOY!

St. Patricks Day

I did not have any green to wear on St. Patricks Day, I found some green clover socks later during the day. I just tell everyone I have green eyes. I did get pinched.
After picking up Rob from work, we came home and Rob asked if I put shamrocks on the small window next to the door, and I said I didn't. I opened the door and saw all these shamrocks all over our front entyway. There was a plate of rice crispy treats on the mat with a sign that read
"You've been Lucky Charm'd,"


We don't know who did it, and then later that night around 9:00p.m. our doorbell rang and so I jumped up off the floor and went to the door. No one was there, just a plate of swirled brownies. I looked around and saw no one. I brought them in and there was an envelope inside with shamrock confetti and a note that read "Happy St. Patricks Day, We are lucky to know you."
We had an overall good St. Patricks Day. The goodies were delicious!

Dinner Time - yum yum

I found a new dish that Rob and I like, it is called Poppy Seed Chicken and Rice. I am not a fan of poppy seeds, they have no flavor and they just get caught in your teeth, so I do not use them. But, this recipe is really good.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. rice
1 cup water
1/2 can cream of chicken soup (or cream of chicken with herbs)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cooked chicken breast with seasoning, cubed
salt and pepper
frozen veggies
crackers
butter

First, you cook your rice, set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then in a bowl, add the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, some salt and pepper, and the cooked chicken.
Then I pick out all the little pieces of broccoli and carrots from one of those big bags of frozen veggies you can get from Sams, and I put them in warm water, so they can thaw a little before they are cooked.
Then I add the veggies to the mixture and stir. Just add about a cup maybe, I didn't measure, just threw some in.

I used a 1 and 1/2 quart round corningware dish, and you just dump the cooked rice in the bottom and level it,
then you kind of plop the chicken mixture on the top and spread it around. For the top, you add some crushed crackers with a little butter and sprinkle over top.

Put it in the oven and let it bake for about 30-40 minutes. It serves about 4 people.
Just great for two people with leftovers for the next day. It is yummy.

Rob is feeling TONS better!!! YEAH!!

I will not go into details, but for the past 3 months, Rob has not been feeling very good. He went off pain pills after two and a half months, went through the withdrawal symptoms and then just after his two week mark of going off, he had to go back on. Due to a condition he has, he does not heal very well and so he was just not getting better. We switched our general doctor, and we talked with our surgeon and our specialist doctor and tried to get things figured out.

During all this time, Rob couldn't do much around the house, so it was all up to me to keep everything together. There were times when I would just get overwhelmed, taking care of Robert and taking care of myself and everything that needed to be done around the house. In the beginning, I was frustrated and it just seemed like Rob and I were living together, but not. We never did anything, because Rob never felt well. It was really hard, we never really shared our feelings during this time. I always thought when you go through a really hard trial, you become closer together, and it didn't seem like this was the case. But, as time went by and we really had no answers to why he was still not getting better, we came together through praying and crying together and just being there for each other, we came together and became stronger.

During this last week our specialist decided to try a drug that would hopefully help Rob. This drug is really expensive, and so the insurance will not cover it until you have tried all the other medications, which we have and so the specialist decided it was time to try. Especially since Robert was in so much pain, even on pain pills. They scheduled it a week out. They needed time to get the insurance approval and so Rob could be on his antibiotics a little longer from an infection he got. So we just had to survive the week. That is easier said than done. He had one awful week and we almost made it. Wednesday, he was scheduled to get the medicine, and tuesday morning he woke up really hurting and told me he needed to go to the emergency room. This was when I was supposed to be leaving to go to work. So we called his parents to come over and drive him to the hospital(his mom was planning to spend the day with him because she did not have to work). But Rob really was not going to make it that long so I called my mom who was just around the block to come over and take him. So she came over and in the meantime I am trying to get a hold of the bus driver I aid for and could not reach her.

I kept talking to Rob, to make sure he didn't go crazy and so he stayed alert. My mom came and she noticed my neighbors lights on(our doctor) and so she called him to come over and help get Rob out to my moms car. They got him out to the car and my mom headed to the ER and I drove to work to tell them what was going on and if they could get me a sub aid. On the way, the driver finally called me and I explained what was happening and she said she would take care of it. I still drove to work to make sure they found someone, and they did so I headed to the ER. Rob was feeling a little better from the pain pill he took just before leaving. Rob doesn't remember anything really about getting to the hospital. We decided to stay at the hospital and get things under control. The pain medication they were giving him was not helping a whole lot.

To make a long story short, the medicine for his condition was scheduled to be given Wednesday morning at the hospital and they changed his pain medication to a different kind on Wednesday morning because the other one just was making him sick and feel worse. He had a rough Wednesday morning before his treatment. So he got the treatment at about 11:30a.m. and it took about 2 and 1/2 hours. They give it to him through an IV. Then he slept for a while and he was already feeling a whole lot better. On this medicine you can see results quickly or sometimes it takes a few weeks, but usually it is a dramatic change.

We were hoping and praying that is would work and that it would be a fast change. Well, our prayers were answered. Rob felt so much better, he was constantly smiling and was able to sit and not be in pain and walk around. We just wanted to shout for joy. Nothing is better than to have my husband feeling good. Especially since it has been so long since he has felt good. I called my mom and told her the good news and she just started crying which made me cry. We are just so happy, so very very happy. He is still recovering from everything his body has been through, but we are on the road to recovery. Things are looking fabulous.

We were able to go home Wednesday night. Rob was wanting to sleep in his own bed and to take a shower and so we came home and I cut Roberts hair which really needed it. Then, he took a shower after two days of sweating on those hospital beds. And we just relaxed.

We just want to thank everyone for their prayers and support. Our ward has been so good as well, everyone, we are just so grateful for all the wonderful people in our life that help us and love us. We cannot express how truly grateful we are to our families and ward members and friends who have helped us get through this. We are on the road to recovery and I am so glad to have my husband back. I could not be more excited.

Also a big thanks to our surgeons, doctors, and our specialist who worked with us and listened to our concerns and made sure things were moving in the right direction. They were all so good at explaining everything to us.
We love you all.

A Day Off

Today is presidents day and I don't have to go to work, it is nice working for the school district, you get all the holidays off. Rob also is home with me because he is feeling crappy. He has been off his percocet for more than 48 hours now and is not feeling the greatest. He was trying to gradually go off, but decided he wanted to be rid of them. After taking them for just over 2 months, he has withdrawals from not taking them. The withdrawal symptoms that he has are aches, chills, stomach hurts, flu-like symptoms, among other things. He has been researching and they say they can last up to a week. AHHHHH!! I just want him to feel better. It is hard for him to feel comfortable, so it makes it seem even longer for him. I am trying to stay strong and help him get through this. But, I gotta say it is hard sometimes. He is getting tired of always being in pain and I don't blame him, I would be to. His body just takes longer to heal.

Things are looking fabulous today, the sun is out and I got up early this morning and did my exercising, so I am feeling good. I was planning to take Rob to work, but since he stayed home, it is just nice to be up and ready for the day. Now, I just need to get Rob through the day and tomorrow he has a doctors appointment and we are hoping he will start really improving after that.