2 years ago today!

He barely got a word in when I read the sign. I don't remember him asking me verbally, I just screamed! I was so shocked. It was perfect! Cars honking, my mom hiding across the street taking pictures....

This time around

Here is an update on the life of Lori and Scott.

Scott is convinced by this remedy. There are several benefits to apple cider vinegar, and Scott loves drinking apple cider vinegar and honey in hot water. The concoction: 1 cup hot water, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar. Drink PLENTY of water afterwords because your stomach might feel funny with the vinegar.

That being said: I refuse to drink it because I can't stand the smell of vinegar, let alone I don't think I'd be able to swallow it. So I drink lemon juice and honey in hot water. It's the same ratio of the vinegar drink, but tastes better (smells better) with the lemon. We drink our remedies whenever we start feeling icky, just the slightest. Honey is so good for you. Last night I felt a canker sore in my mouth and put some honey on it, and it's gone. It instantly felt better too. Think about it...honey is the number one ingredient in lotion!

Scott is still working at Diversified Metals in Idaho Falls. He's starting to get the hang of it, but it's a bummer that he has to leave when he's finally getting it. They are hiring a full time guy right after Scott leaves. It is awesome he slid in as an internship before they realized they needed someone all the time! His English class he's been taking Tuesday nights has been a real help for Scott both in his writing skills, and finding what he is interested in. It's a technical writing class and almost every assignment he's written has to do with energy. He has been able to do a lot of research and has gotten really excited about energy.

I have been babysitting my neighbor's boys every Tuesday and Thursday. The parents are currently separated, but the dad is still in school. So I watch the 2 (almost 3) and 1 year old boys. It has been a lot of fun for me. Even though I only see them for 10 hours during the week, it's making me really excited for when I have my own kids. Being in the primary presidency and watching these boys is making me think about how I want to raise my kids. In our primary when we sing, there are a couple who know all of the words to the primary songs. One girl specifically, Grace, knows all of the apostles. How awesome is that!

Last weekend Scott and I made a music video. It will be posted later when it's completed it's editing.

In case you all out in blogging land didn't know, my brother's wife is pregnant! She's due at the beginning of October. We are excited. Scott's two oldest sisters had 2 baby girls within the past two months.

Happy times!

Oatmeal Dinner Rolls

The much anticipated recipe has arrived! These are my mother-in-law's famous rolls that everyone has been asking about! Be sure to read my notes so that you get them just right. This recipe makes A BUNCH, so make sure you have enough baking pans! You might remember my traumatic experience from the first time I tried making these.

Ingredients
4 C water
2 C oats
6 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp active dry yeast
2/3 C warm water
2/3 C brown sugar
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp salt
9 1/2- 10 1/2 C flour

Directions
Cook oats using water, oats, a pinch of salt, and butter. Allow to cool. Put yeast in 2/3 c warm water and set aside for ten minutes. Combine cool oats and yeast. Mix in sugar, salt, and 8 cups of flour. Add remaining flour until it becomes a soft dough. Let rise 1 hour. Smash down and let it sit ten more minutes. Roll into balls and put onto a greased pan. Cover with a warm damp cloth and let them rise for another 45-60 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 and cook for 18 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Notes
Make sure the oats are completely cooled down. A good idea is to cook the oats the night before and cool overnight. Make sure you measure the cooked oats, not just the dry.

Home Sweet Home

I was looking through a list of number one places to visit in the spring, and got home sick. I took a screen shot of it. The Mount Vernon tulip fields, aka Skagit Valley County, is just 10 minutes north of where I grew up in Washington.

Scott and I took some engagement pictures here. It's beautiful.

When I was in the 7th grade I worked at a consesion stand with my brother. This is a fun place to go and walk around, careful though it's probably muddy!

It's official!

I am a paid graphic designer for advertising! Woo! My client is Nature's Nook in Rexburg Idaho. It was nice that my brother works in the store, which made it a lot easier to get them to trust me, a student. I made them a poster based off of my brother's idea about a month or so ago. I was so happy to do it for them, even though I didn't get paid for it. However today I handed over my own designed poster to one of the owners, Rick. Here it is!

 

This is my first poster based off of my brother's idea that they wanted.

Blender Tomato Soup

Scott really likes tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. So for lunch today we made it. I found this recipe online and edited it for what we had. Super easy! And only took maybe 10 minutes.

Ingredients
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
Onion, as desired
Garlic, as desired
Basil
Oregano
1/2 C milk
Parmesan Cheese

Directions
Saute onion, garlic, and basil in the pot you will make the soup in (with a little olive oil). Blend the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes in blender. Pour tomatoes into pot over the stove. Let boil, add milk and stir immediately. Turn temperature down and add as much Parmesan as you desire.

Heavenly Brownies

Okay, I'm really excited to try this recipe. I will post later how it turned out. I'm trying not to make so much sugar foods because I'm sortof sick and don't want to lower my immune system even more! I got this recipe from her blog.

Ingredients
2 Sticks of butter (1 cup)
2 C sugar
1 1/2 C flour
3 Tbs coco
4 eggs
1 tspn vanilla
1 small jar marshmallow creme

Directions
Melt butter and coco. Beat eggs and sugar together, and add the coco mix alternatively with flour. Add vanilla. Bake in a 9x13 inch pan at 350* for  about 30 minutes. Spread top with marshmallow creme as soon as it's removed from the oven. Let cool and frost with the following:
FROSTING: Melt together 1/2 stick butter and 1 heaping Tbs coco. Add 1/2 box of powdered sugar. Beat with 1 Tbs milk. Spread on brownies.

*Note: if using unsalted butter, add a little salt to the brownie mix and frosting.

Just around the corner

There are so many things to look forward to in the next few months.
First up, my mom is coming to town!

 

Spring will be officially here March 20th, and the snow is already melting!

We'll be headed to Utah to visit family and friends for conference weekend.

A new semester will begin. That means new classes and more craziness.

Additions will be made to our family.

People's lives will be changing.

Scott and I celebrate our anniversary in New York.

How-to

Find a box lid that is still in good condition.

 

Get paper that you want to decorate your box lid with.

 

Start covering the edges with paper with whatever paper you want. I used tape. 

When making the front, be sure to pull the paper tight.

 

Use any box. I reattached this postal box and cut out the bottom so that it was just like a lid.

 

For this lid I used several different pieces of scrap book paper and used fake flowers.

Mi Madre

The many faces of my mom.

 

Skyping with my mom is never dull.