Many the miles...

This was in my head all weekend as we were traveling. I forgot how much I love this girl's music! If you've only heard Love Song, then you're missing out on some good music.


Beach pictures to come soon! :)

One year ago...

One year ago today, I woke up in a dorm in Helaman Halls. I was working as a Sports and Dance camp counselor, and all I had to do that morning was make sure my girls were awake and getting to their various activities, and I was off work until 4 that afternoon. I was going to see Alex *butterfly flutter in stomach * soon, and the only thing we had planned to do was to go look at rings again. I remember thinking, “I’m seriously looking at rings?! Can this be happening?!”, but also being so, so happy at the same time. I woke up to a sweet text message, as I often did, that said “Happy Anniversary! There’s a surprise in the scooter…” and then some mushy lovey dovey stuff. I think it was our 6 month anniversary from our first date? Maybe it was 7 months. I know, I know, only 6 months, but we were almost constantly together for about a month before that even happened, and knew each other 6 months before that date. So, I didn’t feel rushed into it.

I had the best summer job – I worked from 4 pm until 9 am the next morning, hanging out with kids, and eating all of my meals at the new Cannon Center. Oh, and spending 9 am to 4 pm falling in love with Alex.

So, I quickly got dressed, made sure my girls were awake, and then started to get ready to go home. I found a daisy (my favorite) and a note that said “There’s another surprise for you at our spot”. Now, this may require some back story. Alex and I would go on drives a lot when we were dating to talk and get away from roommates. We love to drive up by the Y and admire the view. There’s a house (scroll down and slick Street View), the last house on the hill before you get to the Y parking lot, that we absolutely love. At the time it was for sale, and we always joked about retiring in Provo and buying that house some day. I would still love that. :) So, there’s a spot kind of right by the house, where you can park and look at the view. We used to ride the scooter up there and talk for hours. I love that spot.

I stopped by Gold’s Gym because I saw Erica and Andrew and told them what was happening. I think Andrew thought Alex was proposing, but I said “Oh, no, he does stuff like this all the time. And we’re looking at more rings this afternoon.” Which was true by the way – he does really romantic things for me all the time. And we were going to look at rings that afternoon. Or so I thought. :)

I finally got there, and there was Alex! :) Now, at the time he was working as a Dental Assistant, and worked a few mornings a week. He got this morning off! I was so excited to see him! The first thing I told him was “Your flower fell out when I was driving!”. He parked the car so that I couldn’t see behind it, and led me around. He had set up a Kneader’s breakfast picnic. YUM. If you haven’t had their French toast, you need to. In fact, we went this morning before I had to work to celebrate our little anniversary today. :)

So, we sit, we have breakfast, we talk, it was so wonderful. Then Alex gets kind of….nervous. I’ve never seen him nervous, not even before speaking in church. He says, “I’ve got one more thing for you. Close your eyes really quick.” What a guy. At this point, I thought -- man, he's really being romantic today! I honestly had no clue, because we were looking at rings today! So, I close my eyes, and I can hear plastic rustling. He told me I could open my eyes, and right in front of my face was a dozen red roses. I took them from him, and looked at them and said “Oh, honey they’re beautiful!” or something like unto it. I saw in the corner of my eye Alex kneel down for something. 

Then I looked at him, and he was on one knee. With a ring box in his hand! He said some very sweet things about me then told me that he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. He said THE question, and I said “Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh” for about two minutes. I’m pretty sure I said ohmygosh before he even asked the question. Or maybe even spoke. I could NOT believe that he was proposing to me right now! He laughed at me and hugged me. In my mind, I had already said yes, but poor Alex was just waiting for an answer. He said “Babe, you haven’t said yes yet”, and I shouted “Yes, yes of course!” He put the ring on my finger. It is such a beautiful ring. I had picked out the setting a couple weeks before that, but didn’t really think much of it. I just said “Oh, I really like that one.” And I do! I wish I had a good picture with me now. I’ll have to post one once I’m back on my computer. :) It’s simple and elegant and classic. Anyways, at this point you know I was crying. I started crying during the ohmygosh ohmygosh time. It was such a wonderful moment. It was actually a really spiritual experience for me.

THEN, we went home to Alpine to show the family the ring, which of course they had all seen. We made a million phone calls. Alex told me about calling my Dad the night before, and how nervous he was. We went and saw the new HARRY POTTER, and that night for work, we ate in the Sky Room, this really delicious and nice restaurant on campus at BYU. It really was the perfect day. :)

I loved Alex so much then, and I love him so much more now. I never planned to get married when I did, but I’m so grateful that I did get married when I did. I could never imagine life without Alex, and I am so grateful for him, and that he asked me to marry him a year ago. And that we’re married now. :)

To celebrate (okay, not really) we’re takin’ a red eye to NYC tonight, and then an early morning flight to North Carolina and relaxing for a week at the beach with the MONK FAMILY! We’re so, so excited.

Happy Friday! :)

Love you guys,

Nat

Cilantro Lime Quesadillas

I'm sorry that I blog so much. I'm not even too sure that anybody really reads this, but it's what I do when things get slow at work. Like right now. :)


I have exciting news. I took an extended lunch break and interviewed at a Pre-school up in Lehi that's a Theatre Pre-school. Yes, you read correctly, a THEATRE PRE-SCHOOL. It's totally my dream job. The exciting part is that they seemed to think I was qualified, the interview went well, and now they want me back next Tuesday morning to team teach a class and see if I'm good at it. Hooray! That part doesn't make me nervous at all, that's the fun part. :) So, we'll see how it goes. The job would be to teach my own class from mid-August to May, so during my senior year. If I don't get it it's okay, I've got plenty on my plate for next year. :) If I do get it, hooray! I will have gotten my dream job before I even graduate college.


I am one incredibly blessed and lucky girl. :)


So I like to cook. Last night I did my first attempt at Guru's Cilantro Lime Quesadillas -- it's my favorite. It's Alex's favorite. I should probably learn to make this at home right? Well, I basically guessed on it, like most things, and tweak as I go until I get the perfect recipe. I think I got this down...now onto the sweet potato fries. :)


Last night Alex said, as I was telling myself things I could tweak, "Don't change anything. This is better than Guru's. You need to write this down and make it exactly like this every time." No joke. I guess he liked it.


So here it is! I'm always a little vague with recipes, but hopefully this gives you the idea. 

Cilantro Lime Quesadillas

Cilantro Pesto Sauce


Combine in a bowl and whisk together:


about 4 or 5 Tablespoons of pesto ( I love recipes with pesto! )
1/2 to 3/4 of a bundle of fresh cilantro chopped
some chopped red onion ( put in as much as you like)
A dash or two of garlic powder
A few generous squirts of lime juice ( fresh is you have it)
throw in some lime zest if you want too
1/3 cup or less of chicken broth until it gets the consistancy you want


Taste and make any adjustments according to what flavors you like best.


Corn salsa

Boil/heat up/ cook a couple handfuls of sweet corn and onions ( green onions, red, white, whatever you have) and chopped cilantro for inside the Quesadilla and set aside in a bow.


Chicken
For the chicken, I just crock-potted some chicken with a can of cream of chicken and taco seasoning. It would also be yummy with plain old grilled chicken marinaded in something like :


1 cup water
1/8 cup or less of olive oil
4 or 5 tablespoons of taco seasoning
a few dashes of onion powder


and then grilled up! Crock pots make a VERY tender chicken, which I like the best.


Tortillas
I used store bought, but homemade would be yummy too, I just didn't have much time. I brushed each side of the tortilla with a little olive oil and sprinkled it with taco seasoning/garlic powder mixture. Any kind of yummy Mexican spices will do. I toasted them on the stove over medium heat on each side until they were slightly crispy.


Put 'em all together! :)


Now, I used a Quesadilla maker we got for our wedding to melt it all together, but you can also just throw everything on the skillet on the stove top and flip it over. I layered it on as follows:


Cilantro Lime Pesto mixture ( I strained it a little with a fork and then put it on the tortilla)
Taco Chicken
Corn/onion mixture
Shredded mexican blend cheese


..be sure not to put too much for the first few tries, it could be too juicy! But you'll get the hang of it after the first one.


Let it cool for a minute, slice it, and enjoy!

I like to serve it with some fresh salsa and sour cream. YUM!


Happy cooking :) Hopefully sweet potato fries and other Guru's yummies to come!

June :)

Happy July everyone! Man, I can't wait for the prolonged 4th of July festivities. I have a feeling this whole weekend will be filled with fireworks, yummy food, and family. :)


Here's my favorite dessert recipe that I'm sure I'll make this weekend:

Strawberry pie


1 pie crust ( I either buy an already made chocolate one, or make it with chocolate graham crackers...yum!)
A bunch of strawberries ( enough to fill the pie crust generously) with stems cut off
1 pkt of Sugar-free raspberry Jell-O mix
1/2 cup of sugar ( you can play around with that amount, if you really want to just taste the berries you don't need it)
3 T cornstarch (sometime it needs 4)
1 3/4 cup of H20
Whipped cream ( if you want :) )


1. Mix cornstarch, Jell-O mix, and sugar together well and add to water. Gradually mix in cornstarch mixture. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened. Stir pretty constantly


2. Place strawberries throughout the crust. Poor mixture over berries.


3. Stick it in the fridge for a few hours, and you're done! :) Put some whipped cream and blueberries on top if you want to be patriotic. :)


June has been a very busy but very fun month. Alex and I both are just working now, but we ended our Spring term each getting As in our classes (yipee!). We both are loving this time in our lives to just be with each other, and enjoy being married without a ton of stress!

We have a new beautiful, darling niece, Kira, and VERY recently a new nephew, Conner. They are absolutely perfect. It's so fun holding a newborn!:) Makes me excited for a little one someday.

Erica and Andrew moved back to the Midwest, waiting for Andrew's Master's program to start, and living with my parents. Jealous? Yes. I'm the only kid not at home right now. Oh well, it'll make everyone loves us that much more when we do see them ;)


The DAY OF Alex's final, like two hours after he finished, we drove down to AZ to visit Midwestern University. Keri, the coolest sister ever, came with us, and we drove her totally awesome car. (Insert picture here) It was really fun spending the 11 hr drive with Keri and Alex, hearing funny stories about when they were growing up. I really do love Keri a lot, she's become one of my really good friends. :)

The trip to AZ was fun. And hot. Alex took a simulation course at Midwestern University -- he got to learn more about the dental school, meet and talk with dental students and professors, etc. It made Alex VERY excited for dental school! It still seems like a while away, but I'm glad that it will be something Alex really enjoys.

Keri worked on her grad school paper while I finished up Catching Fire. I read Hunger Games and Catching Fire within a week, I couldn't put them down! I can't wait for the next one to come out August 24th! It will be just enough time to read it before school starts in the fall. :)

We went driving around Mesa, saw the temple, and got a REALLY yummy snow-cone-with-ice-cream thing. If you haven't tried one-- you need too. Drive up to Alpine and go to Snowasis and get it Glacier style- it's totally worth the trip. I actually had one last night after playing at the park with some nieces and nephews. I love summer time :)

Anyways, we also went out to each and met a bunch of Keri's friends from when she lived there. We had some really, really good BBQ, and then Alex and I walked down the street to get a Pizookie. A pizza- sized cookie with ice cream on top. (Pizza and cookies are probably my two favorite things. I promise I'm a healthy person, despite the food I talk about on this blog. Maybe I'll put up some healthy recipes to redeem myself... ) Anyways, it was incredible. I wish I had taken a picture of the street too -- it was very fun walking along all the little shops. Here's a pizookie picture I found online -- looks just like the one we got. Yum.


We drove back on Sunday, and to a new nephew Connor! Since the trip, things have began to settle down. We went and saw How to Train Your Dragon in the dollar theatre. It was really fun! 


I totally love movie popcorn, but I haven't gotten any in a long time because of how expensive it is. I had a few bucks in my wallet from a card I got from my generous Momma, but I couldn't bring myself to spend 4 dollars on a bag of popcorn. Alex, I'm sure, noticed how sad it made me I guess, because he "went to the bathroom" and brought me some popcorn. What a husband :)


We're looking forward to July - work, going to the pool, spending time with family, being outside, picnics, cook outs, and of course the BEACH for a whole week. 

Life is good. :)