10 loves

photo by me!

11.30.07

1. Blogging and those who do it. Seriously, I love seeing what people are up to and finding out what's new in their lives.

2. Singing to Christmas music while driving in the car. I'm sure the people around me think I'm completely nuts. And they are probably right.

3. Working for Utah Valley Magazine. Besides being a top-notch publication, everyone I work with is so likable and friendly.

4. Brilliant "ah-ha" moments like the one I had today for the cover of the medical profiles section.

5. Photography. Doing it, looking at it, thinking about it ... everything about photography.

6. Real Simple magazine. Seriously, every page is so pretty and the articles are great too!

7. Cute finds like these great measuring spoons from Beehive Kitchen.

8. The unsolicited back/neck rub I received from my husband last night when I had a incapacitating headache.

9. Going to dinner and the movies.

10. Clean sheets. There's seriously nothing like going to bed in freshly washed sheets, especially when they've been washed with this great detergent I just bought. It's Tide pure essentials with baking soda, white lilac scent. Seriously splendid.

photo by me!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend was so wonderful! We were able to spend quality time with family and loved ones and do what I love best, EAT!! We had such delicious food that lasted all weekend long. After the initial Thanksgiving Day celebration, my family headed up to the cabin where we enjoyed solitude for the rest of the vacation.


Geoff, Jason, Carlie and my dad played Axis and Allies, a game that took them eight hours to finish. Clearly, it required some heavy concentration and strategy.

Jason and Geoff (the Allies team) were the ultimate victors.


So some of these uploaded a little bit out of order, but here's me and Jason being all in love while waiting for the rest of my family to meet us at the gate to head up to our cabin.

We played tons of games up at our cabin over the weekend. My favorite is "Ticket to Ride," or as my family calls it, the train game.

Carlie is very good at games

The moon rising over the mountains, this is the view from my cabin.

Kissy kissy...

Me and my sweet sister Rylie

Jason and Rylie jumping for joy!!

P.S. you can't really tell since I'm wearing a hat in all these pictures, but my hair is now a beautiful brunette color!

10 loves

Yes, I realize it isn't Friday, but I spent this Friday at my parents cabin with no Internet ... which leads me to my first love of the week:

1. My parents cabin.
2. Thanksgiving Day foods, and leftovers that last for days!!
3. My new hair (pictures coming soon!)
4. The four foot massages my sister gave me this weekend.
5. Our beautiful 3-foot fake Christmas tree with too few lights and three ornaments.
6. Paid vacation days :)
7. Christmas shopping ... and I'm almost done!
8. Watching Christmas lights pop up all over the place.
9. That I don't have to drive in the snow yet!
10. Knowing that tomorrow will be productive.

Cranberries

I absolutely love Thanksgiving and all it entails, but especially the part where I get to help make a delicious feast!! This year, I'm making the cranberries and some of the potatoes (and probably more.) I made some yummy apple spice cranberries last year, so I wanted to try something new and yummy again this year, and here's the recipe I'll be using!

Apple-Orange Cranberry Sauce

1/2 orange
2 cups water
1 tart apple, such as Granny Smith, pippin or
McIntosh
3 cups fresh cranberries
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves



Squeeze the juice from the orange and set the juice aside. Remove and discard the membrane from inside the orange rind and cut the rind into small dice. In a small saucepan over high heat, combine the rind and the water and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes, then drain and set aside.

Peel, core and quarter the apple. Cut into 1/2-inch dice and place in a saucepan. Sort the cranberries, discarding any soft ones. Add to the apples along with the orange juice, orange rind, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low and cover the pan partially. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, the apple is tender and the cranberries have burst, 10 to 15 minutes.

Transfer the cranberry sauce to a heatproof bowl and let cool for 1 hour before serving. Or cover and refrigerate; bring to room temperature before serving. Transfer the cranberry sauce to a sauceboat and pass at the table. Makes 3 1/2 to 4 cups.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library Series,Thanksgiving & Christmas,by Chuck Williams (Time-Life Books, 1993).

image from snagwire

10 loves

(sorry I missed last week!)
11.16.07

1. Cutting delicious apples with my new apple corer/cutter.
2. Eating delicious apples :)
3. Elizabeth Karen Brown - aka, Betsy.
4. Seeing Adam Garcia on TV randomly after hanging out with him in Disneyland.
5. Knowing I don't have to cook dinner tonight.
6. My new Mickey Mouse ears.
7. The lack of snow on the ground, really, the weather has been swell for a Utah November.
8. When doctor's offices answer their phones and are ready and willing to do their part for their medical profiles.
9. Pampered Chef parties with chocolate cake
10. Hearing positive feedback from people, about anything. I'm the kind of person that needs constant validation, that's why I love when people write little things like "love your magazine!" on their bills when the send them in.

Disneyland!

We left our camera in the backseat of our car in the airport parking lot, so we don't have many photos yet, but here's a sneak peek of our amazing vacation!

No surprise here. . .

Your Inner European is Italian!

Passionate and colorful. You show the world what culture really is.

Who's Your Inner European?

Happy Halloween!!

Our Halloween week started last Saturday when Jason, Carlie and I went to the pumpkin patch and picked out our pumpkins. Then we went back and carved them. Well, Carlie and I started ours then Jason finished them for us. We roasted the pumpkin seeds and they were soooo yummy!! I never did get a picture of the finished pumpkins, sorry!

On Halloween, Jason and I passed out candy at my parents house while my dad took Rylie and her friends trick or treating. When they got back to the house, they dumped out their pillowcases and began the trading. McCall ended up with 53 Reeses peanut butter cups, and Katie collected Crunch bars. It was pretty incredible to see all their candy. Rylie and the gals were Newsies, and Noah was an army man. They were so cute!

Carlie went out with a huge group, and she refused to let me take her picture. She wore an OHS cheer uniform and looked great!

10 loves

11.2.2007

1. Our November/December issue of Utah Valley Magazine -- it turned out so well!
2. Still, the warm weather and lack of snow. We had a scare a few weekends ago, but skies have been sunny for almost two weeks now!
3. My online church history class. Not only is it super interesting, it's also super easy.
4. Pay day
5. Five wonderful months of marriage (today!)
6. Autumn. I love to see the trees in a blaze of color.
7. Weekends
8. Sources who return calls/e-mails in a timely manner.
9. Crunchy carrots.
10. Lunch time