Photo Tag

While stalking today I came across a photo tag. I have moved so many of my photos around that I have NO idea what the winner is going to be today so I thought I would take a chance and play along. The "rules" are go to your my documents/my pictures then pick the 4th folder(or album) and post the 4th photo. Our winner for today is... One of my ornaments I bought in Cancun. This was taken back when I was planning on doing the ornament posts each day in December. Obviously I haven't finished moving 2008 over to my external hard drive. Guess that is something I need to work on. Nevertheless this photo is fun because it reminds me of both Christmas and the Warmth of Cancun.
Consider yourself tagged if you read this far.

20 Firsts

1. What was your FIRST pet's name? I had 3 goldfish when I was 9. I don't know if they even had names. Maddy fed them fruit roll ups and they died. I had a bunny for a few days...Sadie. I took her back to the pet store where I worked because she smelled.

2. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to? hahaha Nelson as in Ricky Nelson's sons. Tyketto opened for them. I have their album and still love it but no Nelson music. I actually left Girls' Camp to go to it. I missed all the rain and was able to get a shower mid week.

3. Where did you go on your FIRST date? I went to the Men's Association Dance aka Cheap Date at Skyline High school with Todd Meadows. I had been skiing that day and fried my face. I probably shouldn't have worn a hot pink sweatshirt! For the record, I was a sophomore and the dance was 3 weeks before my 14th birthday. I was also asked to it by 2 other guys but Todd was first. I was not asked to another dance the entire time I was in high school.

4. What was your FIRST job? Does baby sitting count? I made good money at it. The first job with a W-2 was working at a pet store. I hung out at Pet Set all the time so the owner decided to start paying me!

5. What was your FIRST car? 1980 or 81 Mazda RX-7 I had to replace the engine. The car was tiny but fast!

6. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? Mrs. Judd ~ She was mean BUT we had singing time every morning. That was AWESOME!

7. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? I think it was when I was 18 months old and went to Phoenix. I am told I refused to get into the pool. My mom was able to float out in the middle of the pool while I pushed my stroller around the deck. (Dang what an irresponsible mother!)

8. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk? I have known Katrina Clawson most of my life. Due to facebook, we still talk and even get together.

9. Who was your FIRST kiss girlfriend/boyfriend or otherwise? My first kiss was with Boone Brammer, yes that is his real name. Funny story...his aunt and uncle are some of my family's best friends! I still talk with his cousin on facebook regularly. He never was a boyfriend though. I think I would have liked that. As for an actually boyfriend...the one that I would consider my first real boyfriend rather than just "hanging out" I think was Jafar. Ok I don't remember his real name and that is what the following boyfriend called him since that is who he looked like. He was skinny and had a little goatee if I remember correctly. (I was 18 at the time.)

10. Where did you go when you FIRST left home? I went to Utah State when I was 24. I had my own 2 bedroom apt and it was great!

11. Who was your FIRST love and do you still talk to them? My first real love was Walt. I thought I was in love with others but it wasn't real as I couldn't be myself with them. Walt was when I was 24 (I think) and yes we still talk and are very good friends. (Don't worry, Rick knows who he is.)

12. FIRST tattoo? Never had one

13. FIRST piercing? I pierced my ears the summer after 7th grade while my mom was out of town. My siblings noticed immediately but one of them told her. I got in trouble and had to take them out. I had them re-pierced when I was 19.

14. FIRST movie you remember seeing? I know that we went to Tron at the drive-in when I was really little. I remember bits and pieces of it but still couldn't tell you what it is about.

15. Who was your FIRST roommate? Rick other than my siblings

16. Who would be the FIRST to speak at your funeral? The bishop to welcome everyone, duh

17. What is the FIRST thing you'd grab if your house was on fire? My dvd's and cd's which I have burned with everyone on my computer so that it is easy to grab if there were a fire

18. Who was your FIRST celebrity crush? Ricky Shroader or that kid who was on Our House. I think his name was Chad something and I think he is gay.

19. Where was your FIRST sleepover? I think I was 7 and most everyone else was 8. It was for Becky Cushing. She had the coolest carpet in her basement, it had a hopscotch and other things on it. Molly, the only other person I knew there, told me about the boogie man. I ended up coming home. It felt like it was the middle of the night but it was probably only at 10:30 at night. We made carmel apples too! (Soemthing very coinsidental to this...Becky lived across the street from where the Elizabeth Smart family lives. Molly told me that the boogie man would come and get me. Little did she know that years later the boogie man would come and kidnap a girl on that same circle.)

20. Who do you think will be the FIRST person to re-post this? No one, I just "stole" this off someone's note on facebook. =)

Oh Crap, I Forgot

Oh Crap, I forgot what I was going to say is a staple in my vocabulary. Today it applies to the great blog I thought of at some point either last night or today. That is part of the problem, I don't remember when it was I even thought of my blog. If I could, then maybe I could figure out what it was. Until then, well this will have to do as my blog for the day. SMILE!

The Most Romantic Movie Scene - EVER -so I think

I didn't used to consider myself a romantic but apparently I am. I have loved the Pirates of the Caribbean movies from the start. I don't think there is another movie I have seen more times in the theater than the first one. The second, eh it was ok. The third, well the included scene in my opinion makes up for the rest of the movie when it is lacking. I will watch the entire movie just to get to this scene. I know what will happen and yet I cry EVERY SINGLE TIME!!! So yeah, I guess I am a romantic. (I suppose it helps that I think that Orlando Bloom is just plain Dreamy. And yes I even cried when watching it just now when making sure the video worked.) Right about 1:41 is where the tears totally kick in.
If you haven't seen Pirates 3 but plan to...do NOT watch this video unless of course you are up for a "spoiler"

Baby Katie

Last Saturday night we had the opportunity to baby-sit Baby Katie while her parents and big brother went to the Draper Temple Open House. When she first arrived she cried when looking at Rick. Tears and all. Apparently she remembered him with his goatee and didn't like him without. Usually she plays with his goatee. Eventually she did go to him but she had to pull at his face and just stare at him. It was pretty funny.
As is evident by the photos, she is still very flexible. I am glad to see she can still eat her toes when wanted even though she is almost 9 months old (next week).
Kate was also able to experience her first NASCAR race. Granted it was only a Nationwide Race and Jeff Gordon does not race in those, it was still a race. She did like it when the commentators stopped talking and they cranked up the sound so we could hear the cars nice and clear in our surround sound. We are already preparing Katie to become a great Jeff Gordon fan, just like her big brother!

About Mr. Flypaper

Here's a chance to see how well you really know him

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
Monk, Chuck, Burn Notice, ESPN, Speed or Dog Fights on the Military Channel

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Blue Cheese, please

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
He is allergic to all seafood, especially shell fish and therefore doesn't like it. He will eat most anything else I put in front if him. Haven't found something he won't eat yet.

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
Water or Sprite

5. Where did he go to high school?
Cottonwood High School

6. What size shoe does he wear?
9

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
garbage to take to the trash and not have in his home, or most anything that I have in the house that clutters up the place

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
Turkey with blue cheese

9. What would this person eat every day if he could?
Sunflower seeds

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Tony the Tiger all the way

11. What would he never wear?
a speedo

12. What is his favorite sports team?
Green Bay Packers, ReAl Salt Lake, Utah Utes, what other sports do you want me to list?

14. Who is his best friend?
Me, he doesn't have any other friends who aren't blood related and even they aren't friends

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
Collect clutter, eat cookie dough

16. What is his heritage?
British and German

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
Chocolate pudding pie

18. Did she play sports in high school?
Football and baseball until he became so good at tennis that he was told he had to stop the others

19. What could he spend hours doing?
holding down the couch, cleaning ONE bathroom, yes HOURS

20. What is one unique talent he has?
He always makes me smile and laugh

Cinderellie

For most of my life I remember referring to Cinderella as Cinderellie because that is what the mice call her in the Disney version and it was a staple in my family's viewing schedule.
I didn't always love Cinderella and really she isn't my favorite Princess, Belle is because she is brunette. BUT Ever After is probably my all time favorite movie and I love most every version of the Cinderella story. There are a few movies out there I don't like, such as the one with Brandy and the one with Hillary Duff but I love The Princess Diaries.
When I got married, I decided that I wanted to have Cinderella's carriage on my wedding cake and that is just what I did.

My RoCkeRS!

One of the fun things about Guitar Hero is that you can create your own Rockers. I finally spent the time a few days ago to do so. When I first started playing I did edit one of the players, Midori. She was wearing so little clothes I was worried for her that she might be cold. I fixed her up to look like this: Then it was time to create my own personal Rocker - Shel Bell. You will notice, she is well endowed and has long hair. As for the lower half...well the capris looked stupid so I went with the short skirt. Something which I really would wear if #1 I had the legs to do so still and #2 well that Mormon "thing" ;) Sorry the photos aren't exatly in focus. Taking pictures of my tv don't always work out that well.
Last but not least we have Dude Rick. I had some "troubles" creating Rick's Rocker. I played back and forth with the goatee for some time. In the end I decided that since he doesn't have one right now, his Rocker won't. Afterall, I can always go add it again. Then I did the long hair since Rick had long hair (half way down his back)while in high school but that didn't look so good either. I even played with the big hair like the guy "Randy Pearson" on That 70's Show - aka Lady Lovely Locks. But again, it wasn't right. The clothing wasn't so hard to figure out though. They only had one set of shorts and they were cut off slacks so they were out instantly. So without further adu, I now present to you, Dude Rick.

Cheese Enchiladas

Growing up we NEVER had enchiladas. Seriously! I did not have them until I was in my late 20's and now I love them. They are a staple in our repertoire for dinner. I have come across 2 ways to cook them that I personally love and use. I have had them at a friend's houses and theirs were tasty too. I thought I would share the recipe I used most of the time. (The other one I got off Pioneer Women so if you really want you can go to her website and search for it.)

This recipe was the one from the first time I ever had enchiladas. They were made by my friend Thom. (I have mentioned his tasty food before.)
What is needed:
1 can enchilada sauce - red, green, whatever you want. I used the small cans since there are only two of us but there are larger ones too for your whole family. The small can is good for about 3 enchiladas.
Equal amount of sour cream - or so. (I use fat free most of the time)
Tortillas
Cheese
Onions/green onions - optional

Put the sauce and sour cream into a pan on the stove. Warm while mixing until the sour cream is all melted into the sauce.

Pour a bit of the sauce into the bottom of a dish. (I usually use a glass 8x8 dish) Put cheese and onions in a tortilla, roll up and place on top of the sauce in the dish. Pour the rest of the sauce over the tortillas then sprinkle with some more cheese and green onions as a garnish.

Oh yeah, heat the oven to 350. Put the dish in the oven until the cheese on top is melted. Last night I left it in until the cheese had browned up a bit.
And there you go.

I think one of the best things about enchiladas is that they taste great as left overs!

Cinderella's Castle

Rick and I went to Disneyland for our honeymoon. I had technically been there once before when I was 18 months old but since I don't remember it, it doesn't count. I was able to go to Disneyworld several times before I was 7 but even that is very limited on what I remember. For all intensive purposes, I went to Disneyland for the first time for my Honeymoon. I was so excited I cried as we walked on to Main Street. Even now I still get tears in my eyes.
As we walked around we came upon Cinderella's Castle. I have to admit, it was a let down. I told Rick that I was scammed. Yes, I remember Cinderella's Castle in DisneyWORLD and it is NOT the same as DisneyLAND and I was pissed! Ok really, just let down and sad but you get the picture.
Every time we watch a Disney movie now I mention to Rick that the castle they show "is not the castle at Disneyland and they are scamming you." I say it so often now that Rick just says it for me before I can get it out.
Tonight I was reading a friend's blog and she mentioned that one of her "Bucket list" items is to spend the night in Cinderella's castle. I am so going with her. Now I would love to be able to go to Germany and stay in the Neuschwanstein but Disneyworld will be fine enough for me.

Stress

You wouldn't know it but Rick used to be a pretty uptight guy. He is SO mellow now that I forget he had it in him. Until I look in the mirror. I think I absorbed all of his stress and added it to my own. Seriously, I get so irritated by the lamest things. Let's go over what happened tonight...I picked up my mail to find a letter I had requested from a company back on January 31st. I had requested that Rick and I both be named on it. Instead it says "Michele and. " Now I have to call the company again and probably wait another 3 weeks to get an updated letter. The thing is that I specifically requested Rick's name be on the letter so this would not happen. Seriously, how do such idiots have jobs?!?

Jeff Gordon Bathroom

As many of my friends know, I was really excited for the Daytona 500 this past Sunday. Well it was a letdown of a race. With 60 something laps left in the race it started to rain. The cars were pulled off the track and parked. After not too long NASCAR (yes that is the name of the governing body) decided to call the race since it was after 8:00 pm in Daytona and it was more than half way done. It was SO anti-climatic!
Good thing there were the Duels on Thursday. This is where there are 2 races of 28 cars and they race for their qualifying spots. Daytona is the only race of the year where this happens. Well Jeff Gordon won one of the races. Granted it isn't a race that counts with points for the year but still he won. I almost cried. Ok I did, just a year or two. And yes I did it a second time when I watched the race later that night with Rick. Jeff Gordon hadn't won a race in 41 races. It was so much fun to see him win and to go straight for his 20 month old daughter who is just adorable.
For those of you who haven't been to my house, I have a Jeff Gordon Bedroom and Jeff Gordon Bathroom. I packed a lot of the stuff up in the bedroom last fall and was planning to change the bathroom when Rick and I were both laid off so I still have the bathroom. I figured it was time I shared photos of it with the world....or just those who blog stalk me.

Valentine's Cookies - MMM MMM MMM

I have been doing a lot of baking lately. As my friend Carrie Ann said, sometimes we need to remember that we don't live in a bakery. That cooking goodies for my own personal consumption daily isn't necessarily a good thing. Good thing Valentine's Day came alone so I had an excuse to make yummy cookies.
The first photo is what Maddy calls Premortal Cookies. They are Sugar and Butter.
I did make a double batch which filled my 6 qt mixer bowl.








After letting the dough cool in the fridge it was time to roll out and cut out some hearts.

Then some lovely pink frosting, some sprinkles and they are ready to go.

The recipe is:
2 Cups Butter
2 Cups Sugar
3 Eggs
2 tsp vanilla
6 cups Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Mix sugar and butter. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir in Dry ingredients. Chill. Rill out to 1/4" thick. Back at 375 degrees for 8-10 min

Frosting:
1/4 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tablespoon milk
food coloring

This is a single batch. Sometimes I don't need at 6 cups of flour...5 is plenty. It just depends on how humid the air is that day. If you put in 6 cups and it is still sticky, chill it. If it isn't sticky you can go ahead and roll them out. Just be sure either way that you flour your surface and rolling pin first. More often than not, I double the frosting as well to match the one batch of cookies. (Yeah I like frosting.)

ENJOY!

Valentine's Day Brunch

We had a Valentine's day brunch. Just Rick and me. (Yeah like we have anyone else living in this house that we excluded. hahaha)
I made omelets. Let me tell you though, I make them at least once every 2 weeks. I thought I would share some photos of my tasty food since my life is food and genealogy. =) Mine is the one with the "devil's fruit" aka tomatoes. I should also mention, omelets are the ONE and ONLY way I will eat eggs. Seriously...I think they are nasty and I only like them this way because I can add to much cheese and garlic salt to hide the flavor. I would like to thank my friend Thom, who probably doesn't read this, for making omelets when I worked at England. I knew he was an incredible cook so I tired them. Well I am hooked!

Professional Genealogist

I was talking with a friend tonight about becoming a Professional Genealogist. I had another a few months back suggest I do something similar in putting books and such together. I thought I would approach my friend on here and get some feedback from you.
I was thinking some of the services I could provide are:

~Converting family sheets to electronic files (You know those BIG pages and BIG books we used to keep all our genealogy in?)
-Charge by per family?
-Charge by per marriage?
-Charge by per page?
~Adding photos to electronic files
~Preparing names for the Temple...finding out what work needs to be done and printing off the cards
-Charge by per ordinance?
-Charge by per person?
~Adding new people to a tree
~Finding out stories/immigration/emigration (yes they are different and I can tell you if you would like, but it will cost ya.)
~Providing Official documents such as:
Marriage Certificates
Death Certificates
Census Records
~Finding Headstones
~Providing all information in an electronic format
~Providing printed information

So my friends, would you hire me to help you with any of this? Please share any thoughts on other things someone might want to find and if you think this is even something worth pursuing. I am open to any and all ideas.

Potato Soup Recipe

I decided I needed some nice warm soup for dinner. I have been unable to find a good mushroom bisque like the one at Zupa's. (My favorite!) But I did come across this really easy potato soup recipe.
I made it while doing laundry and playing on the computer. Also, I only used 3 cups of milk and I used 6 potatoes since I wanted it to have more chunks and be thicker. It has a great flavor due to the butter and cooking the onions with the potatoes. I also threw some cheese on top of mine.
I don't like ham but you could easily add some ham or bacon too. Be warned though, it is VERY filling!

Easy Potato Soup

Ingredients:

4 potatoes
1 qt. milk (4 c.)
1/2 to 1 diced onion
4 tbsp. margarine
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. (heaping) flour
Dash of pepper

Directions:

1. Cut potatoes into small pieces and cook in salted water, with the onion.

2. In a heavy pan melt the margarine over low heat. Stir in flour and cook until bubbly.

3. Slowly add half of the milk. Add hot, cooked potatoes and onion mixture.

4. Use a potato masher to break up potatoes a bit. Add the rest of the milk and the salt and pepper.

5. Cook over medium heat until hot. If it is not thick enough, shake 1 tablespoon of flour with 1/2 cup cold milk and add to the soup, stir frequently, garnish with a sprinkle of dried parsley

Boring and a New Job

I am sorry that my blog has become so mundane lately and that I don't post very often. The reality is that my life has become a bit monotonous. I am enjoying it immensely but since it consists of family history and stories I think that most people don't want to read about this so I haven't posted.

I will mention this though, Rick has a new job. This is his third week of working for the Church and he loves it. It is very structured and organized. He thrives in situations like this. There is training and uniforms. Rick is managing a group of I think 10 people on a custodial staff. He is in charge from 1:00 - 9:30 of the Joseph Smith Building, LDS Business College at the Triad Center, a "home" next to Triad (I can't remember the name but it is the red brick building between Triad and the Delta Center), a building on state street and a building in Bountiful.
He has full access to all of the tunnels under Temple Square which I think is pretty cool too. Maybe someday I will get to check them out. Did you know that they are carpeted and have elevators and all in them? Not just sealed concrete like the conference center parking garage.

I haven't been successful at finding a job. I applied to 15 jobs on Friday last week. (Yes I counted last night.) But hey, the right one will come along. :)

Life is good.

Couples Survey

♥ What are your middle names? Mine is Anastasia, His is Arnold (his mom's maiden name)

♥ How long have you been together? We have been dating 4 years on Valentine's Day and married just over 2 years

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? Just over a year

♥ Who asked who out? Rick asked me out - 3 times before I said yes

♥ How old are each of you? I will be 33 in March, Rick is 49

♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most? Hmmm, probably mine

♥ Do you have any children together? Names, Age? Nope

♥ What about pets? Names? Thank goodness, NO!

♥ Did you go to the same school? Nope

♥ Are you from the same home town? Yes

♥ Who is the smartest? Me, duh. No wait, him, he wanted to go out with me

♥ Who is the most sensitive? Depends on the situation but we are probably pretty equal across the board

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? We don't really eat out, Rick likes my cooking so much he complains about most every restaurant out there

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Cancun

♥ Who has the craziest exes? RICK!!! Let's not even get started about her

♥ Who has the worst temper? Neither of us have tempers

♥ Who does the cooking? I do

♥ Who is more social? I do, but I still like to just be a home body most of the time

♥ Who is the neat-freak? RICK! But I have mellowed him out some

♥ Who is the more stubborn? Neither really is that stubborn

♥ Who hogs the bed? Neither but we do NOT touch at night not even hands

♥ Who wakes up earlier? We usually wake up together if one of us doesn't have to go to work. We go to bed together too

♥ Where was your first date? We went to Chili's for lunch on Valentine's Day

♥ Who has the bigger family? Rick (the included photo is Rick's parents and siblings/spouses ONLY)

♥ Do you get flowers often? Not so much but I have had some incredible ones from Rick

♥How do you spend the holidays? Hiding out? No really we usually spend time with family

♥ Who is more jealous? There is no jealousy between us

♥ How long did it take to get serious? A few weeks, we did know each other for a year before I would agree to lunch with him

♥ Who eats more? him

♥ Who does/did the laundry? Rick is more anal about it so if he isn't too tired he does it

♥ Who’s better with the computer? ME I have to remind Rick to check his email

♥ Who drives when you are together? Rick usually does

A Baby Blessing

Most of you know that Rick's family isn't active LDS or just isn't LDS. His younger brother happens to be married to one who IS active. She raised her girls in the church and they are still basically active. One is married and has 2 children. Baby 1 was blessed by his uncle and Rick's niece asked him to bless baby #2, who we fondly call #1 seeing as his name is Ryker.
This was Rick's first baby blessing. It was such a fun experience.