Tuesday of the darned!!

So we bought a car. It's all mine baby and it's a 2005 Kia Optima LX V6 and I'm in LOVE! I'm super excited about the trunk (yay) and the backseat. Both things missing from our other ride the '99 Ford Ranger. I'm a happy happy girl!













Been seeing a lot of this lately. Halo 3. E is very very very much enjoying the xbox - wii exchange program we are doing with the C's. He's a happy boy!!


















Not so much in love with this.
Our oven (and only the oven...the burners work fine) has stopped working. I made cookies for enrichment last night (recipe on the other blog) and today when I went to make Rolo Melts there was no heat.
I had to schlepp over to our fave neigbs and borrow their oven and then schlepp back with a pan of not quite solid chocolate things.
E has not been able to get said oven working so sadly no Pecan Sticky Upside Down cupcakes for this weekend Nicole. Also nothing that needs to be baked in the meantime. We are trying to figure out if it's a quick cheap fix for our old cheap came with the house oven or if we replace it.
E's dad is hopefully coming to the rescue this Friday before we leave for Phoenix and hopefully they get something figured out. Honestly gas scares the living daylights out of me so I'm staying clear of that whole situation.
I am just at the point where starting the burners doesn't scare me that much not quite to the point of feeling comfortable using the open flame broiler so I don't need and setbacks in that department.
8:14 pm and not any dinner in sight. I'm trying not to stress.

Relief Society enrichment is tomorrow at 6 so hopefully once we are done with that I will feel a little less....under pressure.

Oh yeah. Forgot for a moment that tomorrow the trial starts back up with the 6 year old victim. This is one of the times with my job that I just really really hope for justice for the victim even though she is too young to really understand everything.

Also i'm tweeting....check it out on the sidebar! I love the idea of microblogging on my blog from my cell or wherever when I don't have big stuff to say.

Where

Where...

is your cell phone? my purse I think
is your significant other? playing Halo 3
is your hair? needing a cut
is one of your favorite things? at Nicoles
was your dream last night? don't remember
can you get your favorite drink? jamba juice
are you right now? office
is your ex? don't care
is your fear? failure
do you want to be in 6 years? happy
were you last night? buying a car
was the last place you drove? home from work
did you grow up? Ontario
was the last place you ate? Jaquels
is (are) your TV(s)? living room
are your pets? crashed out on our bed and the princess tower
is your computer? home office
is your mood? stressed
is your car? in the driveway
is your wedding ring? on my finger
is your favorite store? Target
is your favorite place to be in the summer? Canada
was the last place you laughed? my kitchen
was the last place you cried? no idea
are five places you go on the internet on a regular basis?
Google Reader for blogs
facebook
Hotmail
blogger
amazon

might be cheesy...but I love it!

Birthday LURVE!!

Today is my little sister Angela's 25th birthday!
I'm super excited because she is coming to visit here in about a month. I love my sister so much and she is totally adorable. She has a great sense of style and a wicked sense of humor. Another thing I just love about Angela is how much she cares for other people. She always takes time to show people how much she loves them and I really appreciate that. One of the hardest things about living in Arizona is that I am so far away from my family and I cannot tell you how many times she has made my day by sending me a fun package in the mail or shooting me an e-mail or a comment. I super hope the time between now and when she comes goes fast fast fast. I can't wait to show her more of Arizona and spend some time with her!!
Love you Angela!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

New Blog

Painted Desert Enrichment.
www.painteddesertenrichment.blogspot.com
Is a new blog I have started for my new calling as Home and Family Personal Enrichment Specialist in our ward. It's linked to the side and i'm going to be posting fun recipes and ideas for whatever our current enrichment activity is. Basically resources that the ladies can access at home and reference whenever they want/need.
I'm hoping this is a good idea and feeling a little nervous about how it will be recieved by the Relief Society....in my opinion it's a great idea (obviously) and I think that the younger sisters will LOVE it. We will also still be giving out handouts for the sisters that perfer that method.
Please do enjoy!!
Amy

My 4 4 4 4 4 4

My 4 4 4 4 4 4

A) Four places that I go to over and over: work - grocery store – Nicole & Gene’s - yoga

B) Four people who e-mail me (regularly) Angela – Pam – Christa - (I’m a loser and I refuse to put work related stuff)

C) Four of my favorite places to eat: P.F. Changs – La Posada – Sushi – Swiss Chalet

D) Four places I would rather be right now: Canada – home – South Korea - Europe


E) Four people I think will respond: I think I have received this from everyone who would have responded


F) Four TV shows I watch (regularly): Grey's Anatomy – Martha – Survivor – The Bachelor

tender

Tender.
Last night I had a short temper as I did something that I really did not want to do but felt pressure to do from other people at work. I did it anyway but my heart was SO not in the right place. I felt churlish and impatient. I was not as sweet and kind as I could have been with my patient loving husband at home.
I had a morning this morning where I just had a really hard time getting out of bed….SO tired. I felt like I was snappish and short with my husband and just really didn’t have a great attitude. I just feel tender. Like I’m not on my “A” game. Sensitive.
Just needed to send that out there. If I see you tonight a little kindness would be MUCH appreciated.

I'm determiend to make it a better day. I'm very excited to go to the Cope’s for the weekend tonight. Literally counting the hours!!!

Smoothies

We are sadly and unfairly deprived of our beloved Jamba Juice up here in the middle of the northern desert...we have to improvise!

My FAVE at JJ is the peach pleasure with mango instead of bananna. E doesn't really have a fave on the menu although he does like the strawberry surf rider.

The at home recipe for the peach pleasure goes like this.

8 oz. cold Peach juice (I like the welches white grape and peach)
1 c. frozen peach slices
4 scoops Orange sherbet ( I like walmart fat free and it's CHEAP)
1 small bananna (I do NO BANANNA, add a half cup of frozen mango chunks instead, E likes pineapple)
1/2 cup of ice (optional)
makes 2 large glasses

e's fave, pictured in the orange glass above replaces the peach and mango with a blend of strawberries, pineapple and blueberries.....all FROZEN!! Just make sure you have about a cup and a half of fruit and you are good to go. So yummy!

We have been busy little bees around our house. I'm busy working on the enrichment activity for our ward relief society (all about Visiting Teaching so throw your ideas my way pretty please!) and still watching Jane Jane Jane! I loved the new Persuasion and Northanger Abbey from PBS Masterpiece. I am supposed to have the new Sense and Sensibility in my mailbox this afternoon thanks to Netflix so i'm a happy girl.

Also, I am SOCLOSE to finishing E's mission book I can taste it. He yesterday started talking about getting me a present if I finish it so i'm extra motivated. It may be all I work on at our late nighter crop this weekend Nicole!

Totally feeling yoga from last night...it's a good stretch but boy am I feeling it. I've been loving my class and see a yoga post in the future.

On the agenda for tonight and tomorrow night are:

• Laundry. Seriously.
• Packing my scrap crap.
• watching S&S (I love me some JANE!)
• Making lists of stuff I need in Phoenix.
• Planning pages and printing journaling for remaining mission pages.
• ORDER PHOTOS FROM WINKFLASH (not for this weekend, Nicole and I are doing a whole day scrapfest the first Saturday in May)
• Yoga.
• Work my booty off at work (oops)

Later!!

work hard. play hard.

Having a great time around our house lately. I've been watching Jane Austen obsessively (last night it was Miss Austen Regrets) here's a rundown of what's been up at our casa!!

• Getting random house stuff done before we have our first ever guest come and stay (Angela this means you).
• E. has been doing testing at school (gag). He said it is more boring than anything.
• Dinner last night with a friend followed by massive amounts of slothfulness and me cleaning my scrap desk while watching Jane!
• Attorney I work for has been in a jury trial for the past two weeks = massive stress for me...HOORAY!
• Planning out page kits for my upcoming scrappy date with Nicole www.gncope.blogspot.com which include a latenighter on the 19th AND the all day scrap fest on the 3rd of May. SO EXCITED! I'm determined to have projects all lined up to go so as to me the most productive i can. Naturally.
• Looking forward to a somewhat chill weekend. E. has a meeting/class all day Saturday so I see visions of sponges and mops dancing in my head. I also have plans on Friday night to scrapbook with my sister in law Nicole and lunch plans with the amazing Beckers on Sunday YAY!!
• Feeling a general need for some commitment to a healthier lifestyle. We are pretty healthy peeps in general but i'm thinking of ways we can be even healthier and happier.
• Feeling super blessed to have the friends I have and the wonderful hubs I have. He's a rockstar and I love him almost to distraction!

That is TRULY all I have to say right now! Have a wonderfully BLESSED day!

Caleb's B-Day!

We had such a fun time with the Cope's at Caleb's 2nd birthday party. I know I teased Nicole about it being crazy but it was so much fun. She has such a knack for planning out lots of special touches and details.

Here are a few pics from the party.





















Caleb is such a cool little kid and it's awesome watching him growing up!

Cope weekend

We are in Phoenix visiting with the Copes and recuperating from the CRAZY birthday party yesterday. So fun to spend time with our friends and Caleb is such a doll!

Watching conference....Love President Monson.

Catch you all after the jump!

MLK

40 years ago today a great man passed from this world. Whenever I read from the works of Dr. King I am suprised at how much of what he wrote is SO relevant still today. I've taken some excerpts from a speech he made the day before he died and posted them below.
















As you know, if I were standing at the beginning of time, with the possibility of general and panoramic view of the whole human history up to now, and the Almighty said to me, "Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?"

Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty, and say, "If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century, I will be happy." Now that's a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a away that men, in some strange way, are responding something is happening in our world.

And another reason that I'm happy to live in this period is that we have been forced to a point where we're going to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through history, but the demand didn't force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. Men, for years now, have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence.

Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.

Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation.

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

chicks who rock

Just some of my fave musicians!
Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Sara Bareilles, Ingrid Michaelson, Regina Spektor, Fiona Apple. Love them!!

i beat the devil

So yes...it was on easy. BUT it was still really hard and I am SO addicted to Guitar Hero!
We had a really low key weekend...we decided to make a Phoenix run this upcoming weekend (so excited to be there for Caleb's b-day!) so we scrapped date day and chilled and had tempura with some friends. We were super disappointed to miss the Beckers on Sunday (feel better soon Kath) but it did give us an opportunity to spend some time with E's family.

Hoping to relax a little this week. Not much on the agenda until Friday other than Yoga tomorrow and a jury trial starting Wednesday. Not all that excited about the trial...it's always a little different having one of the attorneys you work for in trial. Different responsibilities and heightened security and all that.

Also have been LOVING http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ lately. Her cooking blog is THE BOMB and E really really loved these http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/07/bacon-wrapped_j/
Tasty!
Go check her out!!

Great movie....part deux!

Another excellent movie above. Totally stupid and meant to be stupid and makes me laugh hysterically every singe time! The costumes....the actors...I find Amy Poehler HYSTERICAL!And her hubby Will Arnett....very funny as well! We saw this on date day when it was in theaters and we completely loved it....I can still watch it today multiple times and find it just as funny. Go rent it!

On the agenda for the weekend. Date day! Lot of sushi, errands (ugh), maybe a movie, but most importantly time with my baby!!

Also on the agenda, lunch with the Beckers on Sunday!!

update?

I've been really busy/ tired....not really any time for an update but I did want to post some fun pics from my absolutely favorite movie ever. Amelie. If you do not see/own this movie. Get thee to a blockbuster and rent it! I love it! It is very french (subtitles) and there is some semi-inappropriate boobage but whatever. I LOVE IT! Even just the soundtrack makes me happy.
Probably do not watch if nudity/sexuality easily offends....what can I say....the french?

Mountain Dew

Are you ever so tired that there just does not seem to be enough in the can and you seriously contemplate licking the inside of the can for the last drops?
Just checking!

03-24-2008 mosaic monday

1. The Colour Wheel according to Wollmeise, 2. Amazing fabric, 3. Secret Sedona, 4. Crocs in Parma, 5. oriental ceiling, 6. Phoenix at dusk (HDR), 7. Monument Valley, Utah & Arizona, 8. Route 66 Tipi's Arizona, 9. Inside the Rock House, 10. Take me to your leader, 11. Harajuku Up & Close, 12. hollywood tunnel, 13. You just can't trust pirates..., 14. A Vibrant Glow, 15. Flora, 16. All In a Row, 17. Mini cup cake collection 2, 18. choc mud with purple and mauve hues, 19. "Change we can believe in" - Barak Obama, 20. 27 things I want to do before I turn 28, 21. some of the other ones, 22. Firework Blue, 23. **forest**, 24. bookshelf spectrum, revisited, 25. Guitar Town, 26. ♥Heart♥, 27. wonderland, 28. Park Chess, 29. Monument, 30. Picture 102, 31. Invader Zim Pod, 32. ____________________________________, 33. Snuggling, 34. freeway kingdom, 35. Yoga mats, 36. yum

SNL Saturday

Lots of love to my big sister Crystal who celebrated a birthday this week! I've been AWOL from blogging but I have it on good authority that she got the package I mailed her. It's amazing to me that packages can get from Arizona to South Korea in less than a week. Awesome!! Happy belated birthday Crys!!

Abby, Ariel and I have been chillin'. E is in Nevada having a little bit of a guys weekend and so i've been watching girly movies and taking naps. Have you ever watched a movie that you have not watched in YEARS and remember how much you like it. Today. Sound of Music. Me. Nuf said. Now i've moved on to SNL and dang it is FUNNY! Classic clip below.



Doing a little scrappin' and devouring Martha Stewart's new cookie book. I have bookmarked almost half of the book as recipes to try. The carrot cake cookie recipe I posted a few weeks ago is also in the book. Yummy!
I hope you have a restful blessed Sunday!

best canadian butter tarts

My fab aunt MJ gave me this recipe a few years ago and it has become my go-to recipe for butter tarts. If you have never had a butter tart, you are clearly NOT Canadian. In all seriousness there are very few truly Canadian recipes and this is one of them. Some people compare them to pecan pie, and while I see the similarity these are SO MUCH BETTER! I like them with raisins...E prefers pecans or walnuts (I knew he was weird when I married him) some peeps I know even put crazy things like coconut or chocolate chips.

OK enough blather and on to the recipe!

Start by making a batch of pie dough from your fave recipe. You need two muffin pans of 12 tarts each for this recipe (or you can buy pre-made frozen tart shells but they are really not as good). I really like parenthesis. Sorry.

1 c raisins (or pecans, walnuts, whatever!)
1/2 c butter
1 c brown sugar, packed
1 c light corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla

Line tart pans with pastry and preheat oven to 450 degrees FAHRENHEIT.

In a heavy saucepan combine sugar, butter, raisins, corn syrup and salt. Set over low heat until butter is melted and mixture is warm, stirring to dissolve sugar.

Do not let mixture get hot...if it does remove from heat and let cool slightly before adding eggs and vanilla and stirring to combine.

Spoon filling into pastry lined tart shells, filling each 1/2 to 2/3 full. (I would lean more toward 1/2 and see how much filling you have left. These can be a nightmare to get out of the pan if the filling overflows. TRUST ME!)

Bake in 450* oven on middle rack for 10 minutes. Lower heat to 350* and bake 5 minutes more or until pastry is golden. Let cool completely before removing from pan.

Seriously, these are SO popular in Canada....in college I worked for a semester at a bakery that only made these tarts....tarts all day long for months and months and months. It was really hard to eat a tart for awhile after that but now that I've had some space....delish again!

I used the pie crust recipe from the back of the package of crisco and it was super tender and yummy....only problem was that I filled the cups too full and they overflowed....combine that with super tender pastry and I was only able to get TWO (yes the two pictured above) out of the pan without breaking them. That did not however stop our neighbors and ourselves from finishing the dozen. We simply had to get messy and creative! They are that good. So good that E, when I told him I was posting about butter tarts, said "I'm not stupid...there is dough in the fridge...why do we not have buttertarts?!?!"