Halloween

Wow, I'm really behind on blogging again. Here's a cute picture of Grace in her Halloween costume this year. She chose the costume herself...wanted to be a doctor. She just loves playing with her doctor toys, loves to pretend. We've got some great milestones happening with her right now. She just celebrated her 3rd birthday at the beginning of November, right before that we had finally got her all the way potty trained, which was so awesome, and most recently, she has started going to pre-school and is loving it. Now we're gearing up for Christmas and all the fun that goes along with it!

Witches at Gardner Village

This past weekend I took Grace to Gardner Village to see the halloween witches they've got put up right now and of course to see the ducks. I forgot how busy that place gets around this time of year. I had to park out on the street it was so crowded. It was fun though. I made my usual trip to Sweet Aftons for fudge and got Grace a cute stuffed dragon. It was a nice cool fall day so I'm glad we got out & enjoyed it. We're so excited for all of the upcoming Halloween parties and events. Good times! :)

Stuff

Geez it's been a while since I've posted much. Lots of stuff going on lately. Two great friends...who I happened to introduce....just got married last weekend and I had such a blast at their reception. I got misty eyed several times during the night, between lots of food, drinks and dancing. Now if I could just have my own wedding I would be the happiest girl ever! :) Maybe next year....fingers crossed. The reception was great but it was a little sad too because I had to go by myself. Richard had to go to Kingston, Jamaica for work. He was gone for almost a full week. I'm so glad to have him home! Grace and I missed him while he was away...but we did have fun girl bonding time together. I can't believe how fast these three years have gone, it amazes me that Grace will be 3 in less than a month. Richard & Grace & I were looking at some videos last night from when Grace was a baby...now I'm baby hungry. :) She's grown so much....and is sooo not a baby anymore. Can't wait for her birthday party. I love planning parties! :)

Happy Fall!

Yay! It's finally fall. My favorite time of year. Time for crisp weather, hot drinks, football, halloween and beautiful fall colors. It also means that Grace's birthday is coming up. I've finally got her birthday party booked and I'm excited for it. I think she'll have a blast!

Mother's Day Pictures

Here is one of the many adorable pictures of Grace from our Mother's Day sitting at Kiddie Kandids! I love how they turned out. Mother's Day was great. Went to breakfast and did some shopping, then went to visit Richard's mom's grave, and then went to dinner with my family at Sugarhouse BBQ...which was very yummy!

Happy Easter!

So excited for Easter! We're driving up to Idaho Falls on Friday to see Richard's mom's family and we'll have a fun Easter egg hunt on Saturday and then head home so we're back in time for Easter at my mom's on Sunday. It'll be fun to see Grace running around looking for eggs. She's excited for CANDY! It will be nice if the weather stays fairly decent for us. I hope everyone has a great Easter!

Happy Spring!

It's finally spring. I LOVE spring. I'm so happy to be able to start wearing sandals and looking forward to weekend BBQ's. Too bad I have to work instead of going out to enjoy the weather!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Vegas Girl's Trip

Just got back from a fabulous and much needed girls trip to Vegas. I had such a great time...but realized how OLD I'm getting. I'm definitely not 21 anymore. :) How's this for cool though, we went to ESPN Zone at New York, New York and were seated in the private "Executive Suite". It looked like a board room with a big desk and executive chairs and it had four big screen tvs and a stereo. It was so cool. We felt like such VIP's. :)

Bologna Face

Just had to post this funny picture of Grace. She thought it would be fun to but bologna on her head. Dang, she's so cute I can't stand it! :)

GNO

Last night my girlfriends took me out for dinner at Cheesecake Factory as a late birthday get together and we also went to see He's Just Not That Into You. It was such a delicious meal and the movie is awesome. It was like 5 chick flicks in one with all the stories going on. I'll definitely buy it when it comes out. Man, I love Girl's Night Out! And next weekend will be Girl's Weekend Away....we're headed to Vegas. I cannot wait. I'm set for shopping, drinking and eating the whole weekend long!

Happy Mardi Gras

Here's a yummy recipe for Authentic Louisiana Red Beans & Rice. YUM!
1 pound dry kidney beans
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 stalks celery, chopped
6 cups water
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
4 cups water
2 cups long grain white rice
DIRECTIONS
Rinse beans, and then soak in a large pot of water overnight.
In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, bell pepper, garlic, and celery in olive oil for 3 to 4 minutes.
Rinse beans, and transfer to a large pot with 6 cups water. Stir cooked vegetables into beans. Season with bay leaves, cayenne pepper, thyme, sage, parsley, and Cajun seasoning. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 2 1/2 hours.
Stir sausage into beans, and continue to simmer for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the rice. In a saucepan, bring water and rice to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve beans over steamed white rice.

Avenged Sevenfold Show

We went to the Avenged Sevenfold show last week and had a blast! I already want to see them again!

Prom 2009

Richard & I went with our friends to a Breast Cancer benefit called Forever Pink on Saturday. It was a prom themed evening with dinner at Biaggi's and a bus that took us to the prom at Memorial House, where there was an awesome open bar and dessert buffet and to die for cheeses to snack on. Afterwards, the bus took us to Lumpy's where we were "VIP" and got in before a line full of people. It was a great night. They even had a photographer there taking "Prom" pictures that we could purchase. How fun. I know I had way more fun at this prom than I ever did in High School!

Our new furniture

We got our new furniture delivered yesterday. Very comfy!

Super Yummy Superbowl Dip

I Loooooove dips. It's almost always what I bring to parties, especially Superbowl. Here's a yummy one. Kind of sweet, but spread on a townhouse cracker it's the perfect combo of sweet & salty.
Cranberry Orange Spread
1 pk (8 oz.) fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 T sugar
1 T grated orange peel
1⁄8 t ground cinnamon
1⁄2 c cranberries, dried
2 T chopped toasted pecans
2 T Tropicana® Light ‘n Healthy Orange Juice Beverage
Combine cream cheese, orange juice beverage, sugar, peel and cinnamon in medium bowl; beat with electric mixer until smooth. Gently stir in all but 2 teaspoons cranberries.
Transfer to serving dish. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Sprinkle with pecans and remaining cranberries.

Catch Up

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted. I figured it was time to get rid of my Christmas background on the blog and catch everyone up on what's been going on with me. Well, Happy New Year everyone! I hope it's been great. I'm excited for this year. I think it's going to be great. Anything is better than the year I had last year. So far 2009 has been awesome. I've gotten out of debt with the exception of my mortgage payment, the Utes won the Sugar Bowl, everyone is healthy so far this year and I have finally got a vacation planned and hope to go on at least one more this year. Yay for vacation!