The Power of an Adjustment

I thought this was pretty funny. Plus, I enjoy M.J.

What's YOUR excuse???

I could make all kinds of excuses/reasons/justifications for why I haven't blogged. There's no REAL reason, other than crazy busy-ness. My days are quickly spent and I rarely have extra time for non-essential things....that is, until after I have Tanner in bed, and let's face it...by that time, blogging is the last thing on my mind. So today Tanner is sick and I have some time. I have re-arranged my schedule so I have Friday afternoons off of anything.

We had a great weekend. Tanner and I headed to Calgary on Thursday (without Matt). He had speech on Friday morning which went great. Then I went for dinner with Erica on Friday night. It was fantastic! We had a great time. Saturday night I went to support a old friend (old as in I grew up with her...longtime) and participate in a walk to raise money for leukemia. It was a fantastic night and I am glad I was able to help.

Last week I intended to put up this article that I was shown but I didn't so I'll do it now. You'll have to google it for the story, I was just able to get the pictures. There's a man in Europe that built this ark according to what the Bible says are the actual measurement. Really amazing!

















So that's all for now.

what impresses me

What really impresses me is people that don't know me personally or intimately, who remember Tanner's name and refer to him by name on my blog. Thanks Megan!

Lots has been going on lately. Getting back into the swing of the routine is going fairly smoothly. I still strongly dislike lunch hour...or rather 45 minutes. Tanner was in tears today because even though we always have his lunch ready before he even gets there, he wanted to talk and visit and he couldn't because he was rushed to eat. 45 minutes is just not enough time to pick up a child or children and get them home and fed and not feel totally rushed the whole time. Anyways, that's just my 2 cents on the subject.

The longer I'm married to Matt the more I realize how great of a husband I have. I use to wish I had a stronger minded husband but we totally compliment each other. Recently I had to do a personality test and there were 4 personalities; Lion, Otter, Golden Retriever, and Beaver. Guess what I came out as??? I am not going to tell you in this post but just guess. I'll tell you in the next post. Needless to say, my personality and Matt's totally compliment each other and it makes me really grateful for a loving Father that knew I might have a hard time with a strong minded husband. He's so laid back and gentle and meek and just goes with the flow. I wish I was more that way but that's what makes us so great together.

I have stayed up all this week until he gets home at 11pm just to talk and visit because otherwise, we don't get a lot of time together.

We have already planned 2 monthly Temple trips for next year. That is our goal together. I'm really excited.

It just feels so great to be in a good place in almost every sense of the word right now. Don't get me wrong, we do have weaknesses and we aren't perfect but where it really counts, where it really truly matters, we're in a fairly good place.

We heard the other day on the radio about how money can make a person happy. Is that true?? Then Matt heard the next day that a certain amount of money can make a person happy. The amount? $750,000. He heard that with that amount of money most people could buy their happiness. After that amount, money becomes a problem and a burden. I thought that was pretty interesting. I'm not sure I agree or disagree with the whole "money can buy you happiness. Or a certain amount can". If it ever happens to me, I'll let you know but I'm sure I'm happy because I choose to be not because money can buy me my happiness.

My happiness is not materialistic or co-dependant. I am happy because I want to be. I am happy because I have what really matters in life: Love, Family, Friendship, the Gospel, and a body to help me learn what I need to in this life. My happiness doesn't depend on if I live in a real house or have a nice car or make tons of money or have the latest fashion or the latest gadgets. It doesn't depend on if I have all the friends in the world. You can have all the friends in the world and still feel alone. I know where my happiness comes from and that's what matters to me.

On that note, have a great day everyone!

My life in photo's

I've been slacking off on this for a couple of reasons. Most, okay some, of the list that's left is stuff that I don't want to post...like my street where I live, my house etc. For obvious reasons (no thanks creepy stalker people trying to find out exactly where I live).

So I will do 5 different ones.

the last 6 movies I saw were:


The sorcerer's apprentice

This was a great movie. I really enjoyed it and it will definitely go into our collection.

Toy story 3.




Such a great movie. Very cute. I liked this one the best out of all of them. Just a really sweet ending to a great story.

The Last Airbender



A-W-E-S-O-M-E! One of the best movies I've seen. Very clean and perfect amount of action.

Nanny McPhee



A feel good movie. Funny and there's a little twist in the end.

Despicable me



Seriously, the sweetest, best movie I've seen in forever. The jokes are totally clean and it was just an amazing movie. I think this is my favorite movie of all time, ever right now.

Charlie St.Cloud



Susanne and I saw this movie. I really enjoyed it and it had a really good message to it. A really good movie.

I bought my first dress in about 8 years. I have a hard time with dresses because my hips are kinda huge from having a baby so I'm a little self aware of that flaw. But I bit the bullet and got one. I really love it and I love red (hello! If you've just tuned in, I adore red)




And since everyone else is doing it (I actually wasn't going to post his first grade picture but I'm feeling a bit like a follower today) here's Tanner's first day in first grade. He loves this shirt and wants to wear it everyday! Such a fun boy. I sure do love him.



So Jenn, I hope that fills you up until Wednesday ; )

Fashion week #3

These are...well, you can just see the pictures and put the words there yourself.



For the vertically challenged, these are the boots for you!




The perfect bar stool shoes.




Oh the ideas....now you can take your pet fish with you everywhere you go! But make sure you don't walk too fast or run or you might kill your fish. OR for a really great workout, fill them with money and run in them. If you have kids, they're the PERFECT place for snacks and or treats "you better be good or Mommy won't give you any shoe treats".




A vase with a heel...man, I can't tell you how many vases I have that I wish were shoes.




Just plain ugly sandals.




For those of you who have a difficult time walking with just one heel, try two! It's much easier.

golden baked carnival dog

These were really quite easy and really yummy. A fun way to serve hot dogs.

1 can (311 g) refrigerated soft breadsticks
8 Hot dogs
1/4 cup Parmesan Grated Cheese


PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Separate dough into eight sticks; pinch short ends of sticks together to seal. Roll or press each piece into 14-inch rope.

INSERT wooden pop stick into one end of each hot dog, leaving 2 inches of each stick exposed. Wrap each dough rope in spiral fashion around one of the hot dogs, pressing ends of dough together to seal. Place in single layer in shallow baking pan sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with cheese.

BAKE 20 min. or until hot dog is heated through and dough is golden brown.
You can dip these in BarBQ Sauce, ketchup or Cheez Whiz.

nutritional information serving size = 1 hot dog (77 g)per serving

Calories 230 Total fat 12 g Saturated fat 4 g Cholesterol 20 mg Sodium 720 mg Carbohydrate 21 g Dietary fibre 1 g Sugars 3 g Protein 9 g Vitamin A 0 %DV Vitamin C 0 %DV Calcium 4 %DV Iron

School has been going really well for Tanner. He is really liking it so far. I use to be the Mom that said "I'll never drive my kids to school" because my Mom never drove us unless it was -35 or colder out. When I was in High School, I was bused and I remember her driving me to the bus stop maybe 2x because it was far too cold to stand and wait for the bus, let alone walk to the bus stop. Tanner has been fortunate enough to be bussed the last 3 years and this year, because he isn't in the PUF program, he doesn't get to take the bus. He has rode his bike once in the last 8 days of school and been driven to and from all the rest. I really need to get some control of this. He is perfectly capable of walking. It's the perfect opportunity to get some exercise for both of us. We don't live that far from the school so really there's no reason he can't walk.

It's really different for me to not have anyone here in the afternoon. I am finding all sorts of projects that I wanted to do in the summer but never had the time to do them...like sorting through Tanner's clothes and putting them in "age" appropriate boxes. I had about 2 weeks of laundry to catch up on as well. The summer went by so fast and I looking back, I hated that I didn't make the time to be more productive. In the eternal perspective, I got to spend a ton of amazing time with Matt and Tanner and make awesome memories and that's what matters the most.

I love the routine of the school year. I strongly dislike that lunch is only 45 minutes long. It's too rushed. I guess that's what happens when the school decides on only doing half days on Fridays. You have to take the hours from somewhere else.

I got a new calling 2 weeks ago. I am the Personal Progress Specialist. I'm excited for the new calling and the new things it will teach me. If any of you have any ideas please let me know. I'm not even sure where to begin.

Well, that's all for today. Have a great day.

Fashion week #2

Throw me a bone this week...I'm practicing my comedic skills...lol



I wonder if they make bags like this that you can actually carry a real dog in...but I guess a fake plaid one will do if I don't have a real dog to carry around.




Do you think they make this to work for real. Like if I even owned anymore cassettes, could I play my New Kids On The Block in it? RAD!




All I could think of when I saw this bag was a "travelling jail". Anyone else got any funny's about this bag????





You know, I had a pet mink once and I lost it, but now I found it!





For those of you who can't tear yourself away from the paper...now you can take it with you.

perfect zesty chicken Tortilla bake

1/2 cup Miracle Whip Dressing
1/2 cup Flour
3 cups Milk
2 cups Kraft Tex Mex Shredded Cheese, divided
1-1/2 lb. (675 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup Salsa
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (I also added cilantro...which I love)
16 small flour tortillas

Make It

HEAT oven to 375°F.

MIX dressing and flour in medium saucepan with whisk until well blended. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to boil on medium heat, stirring constantly; cook and stir until thickened. Add 1 cup cheese; cook until melted, stirring constantly. Reserve 1 cup sauce.

STIR chicken, salsa and parsley into remaining sauce; spoon 1/3 cup down centre of each tortilla. Roll up. Place 8 roll-ups, seam-sides down, in each of 2 (13x9-inch) baking dishes sprayed with cooking spray; top with reserved sauce and remaining cheese.

BAKE 25 min. or until heated through.

Bake both casseroles as directed. Enjoy one and let the other one cool. Wrap cooled casserole tightly; freeze up to 2 months. When ready to serve, thaw frozen casserole overnight in refrigerator. Then bake, uncovered, 45 min. or until heated through.Serve with a crisp mixed green salad.

Healthy Living: Save 70 calories and 7 grams of total fat per serving by preparing with Miracle Whip Calorie-Wise Dressing, skim milk, Kraft Tex-Mex Light Shredded Cheese and whole wheat flour tortillas.

I made this for a work lunch and saved the second casserole for dinner that night with Matt and Tanner.

Happy Baking.

Fashion week #1

The next 3 5 for Friday's will be fashion type posts.

Normally I am not really into fashion. I don't really care if I have the latest styles or clothes that are "in" (because inevitably, they eventually go "out"). But for a couple years now I have been looking at coats. I would love to have a really nice, styled coat that I could wear. I have 2 regular winter coats, but a dress coat would be extra special for me. What do you think about the following???


As you know, if you read my blog, I am in love with red. I have been for a while. I LOVE this red coat. I'm not totally in love with the big bow thing, but I could love this coat just for the fact that it's red. Plus I really like the length.



This one isn't so much a dress coat as it is just a nicer coat that I could dress up. Grey is not really my thing. I love color in winter...after all, isn't winter already kind of grey???



I also LOVE this coat. I love everything about it. The color is fantastic and it's just a really beautiful coat.



This is such a sweet, feminine coat. I love the little collar on it.

bruschetta 'n cheese stuffed-chicken breasts recipe at kraftcanada.com

This was a really yummy dinner we just had last week. It made enough for 1 dinner and leftover for lunch the next day. I used Italian dressing instead of the recommended dressing and it was really good.


bruschetta 'n cheese stuffed-chicken breasts recipe at kraftcanada.com





Where Matt and I were married:

In the Cardston, Alberta Temple. I don't have pictures on my computer of our wedding, otherwise I'd put one up. We were married January 28, 2000. It was a clear, bright day but cold. My Mom told us when we were growing up that winter weddings were a no no but both Megan and I were married in winter months.




Elementary school:

Pineridge Elementary...I have very fond memories of this school and my years there. Even when my Dad died when I was in grade six, I look back and see how particular incidences have shaped my life and helped me become who I am now.



My favorite dessert:

molten lava cake from Chili's. It is so yummy and delectable and delicious...it's that yummy



Favorite Restaurant:

East Side Marios is a favorite right now. I am a pasta fan. It's a comfort food...thank goodness my comfort food isn't a fattening food like candy or chips.