LoVe

On wednesday Colby went to get a haircut and deposit my paycheck. Since he was near WalMart I told him he might as well bring home some ice cream too. He came home with ice cream. And ROSES! How did I get such a wonderful guy?


... yes, they are in a canning bottle :) Love it.

New recipes!

This weekend in my free time I've been trying out some new recipes! Last night we had some super easy and pretty delicious chicken taco soup. Seeing as I never can think of what to make for dinner, I'd figure I'd post this in case anyone wants to try it. I found it on all recipes.com. My slightly modified version of this recipe is:

1/2 onion, chopped
1 can black beans
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
12 oz. chicken broth ( I used one bullion cube and 12 oz. water)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 pkg. taco seasoning (I used about 3/4 the pkg)
2 Chicken breasts (I used one big one and there was plenty)
Shredded cheddar cheese, Sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips are an optional, per serving topping!

Place everything but the chicken (and topping ingredients) into a crock pot. Stir in taco seasoning. place chicken breasts on top. Cook for 5 hours on high. Shred chicken, put back in soup, and serve! This recipe makes a lot!

I'm also trying to make some cinnamon roll muffins as we speak ... I'll let you know how they turn out!

ps. still no news from DC :(

What we've been up to ...

Christmas with 2 families
New Years
Med School Interviews
A Wedding (yay Anikka and Andrew!)
A Missionary Sendoff (Love you Cade!)
The start of school
Working
Trying to think of quick dinner ideas
Playing with my Cricut
American Idol
The Biggest Loser
Reading good books (Graceling, Fire, The Chronicles of Pellinor)
Dates that include Pizza and icecream
Living life in the moment because everything is up in the air for a while
Crossing our fingers and waiting for an important letter from the Military Med School in DC ...

CHUCK

We love Chuck. For those of you who do not know about Chuck, you need to get the first season and watch it! By the end of tonight we will have watched the entire second season, and we started on Thursday night. Chuck is the most awesome spy ever. The third season starts tonight. We are hoping that soon we will be able to catch up on the premiere on Hulu and then be regulars. I think we are officially Nerd Herders.

Bowling and blocking

This holiday season has been crazy. Over Christmas break, Jared, Jen and Tanner were here and on one of the days I had off, we met my whole family (that is, those who were in Utah) halfway and ate some yummy Pei Wei and went bowling! It was so much fun. We played boys against girls. The boys won ... but I am proud to say I beat Colby. By one point! It was great to get to know Tanner a little better ... what a cutie!
On New Years Day Colby's brother Seth and his wife Amanda flew in from South Carolina. Over the weekend we got to spend some quality Neville family time. When our planned hike didn't work out, we made the best of it - We watched movies, ate Cafe Rio, played Nertz and Apples to Apples, and I convinced them to craft (with my criquet which was a surprise for Christmas ... I love it mom!). It was a great weekend, and here are the results:I originally made these blocks as a housewarming gift for the NevillesAnikka's new last name ... as of this Thursday. Kerri's cute Valentine blocksSeth and Amanda's blocks!And, of course, Mckenna's blocks. We really love the bright papers!

It is so great to spend time with family and catch up with those we rarely get to see :) We missed the rest of the Jackson clan, but are excited to see them this summer. We are also excited for Anikka and Andrew to get married this thursday!

From the mouths of babes

Now that I work with kids, it seems that at least one thing every day makes me want to die laughing. Today I had one little girl on such a roll that I just HAD to write them down. Just so you get the picture, this girl is 4, with a halo of golden curls, big blue eyes, bright pink coverall snow pants, and about 100 pounds of attitude. When I correctly guessed her name (thanks to the office computer) she stared at me in shock and said “I’ve never even come to here before!” I replied that I was magic. Later on I had to remind her of my magical abilities and she stopped midsentence, her eyes widened with understanding and she replied,

“Oh Ya! You can see me... But Santa can see me more.”

Other quotes from her (that probably only I will find funny) include:

“Once you have the dentist toothpaste you can’t eat for like a zillion minutes. Like 5!”

“My brother is 11. And he could kill somebody”

“I have an anchor in my mouth!” (said with her tongue pushing against her front lower lip … she meant she had a canker)

Me after a comment about how her alligator toothbrush smelled like grapes: “Do you think all alligators smell like grapes?” Her: “No. They smell like poop.”

“I’m going to bite your butt!!!” (luckily she did not succeed;)

Anyway I hope some of those made you laugh, because for the full 2 hours she was in the office, she had me in stitches.

The Burning Beddy Buddy

My Beddy Buddy was a Christmas present, and came all the way from Germany. It is an fluffy little puppy that can be heated up in the microwave to keep you warm. Last night upon arrival in Logan my toes went numb and in an effort to warm them up I plopped him in the microwave. He caught fire. I screamed. Unfortunately I hadn't realized that he didn't originally come with the cute ribbon on his neck (I mean, who sells a microwavable puppy with a combustible ribbon?), and the metal combined with the microwave resulted in flames. In a twists of severe irony our fire alarm, which usually goes off with the steam from the shower did not even sputter. I had to put out the flames by blowing. After a few very distraught moments I decided to fix him up. Doing my surgeon father proud, I cut away the burned fur and "skin" and sewed him up. Now he is good as new ... besides the stitches and hair cut and the few singed furs that remain. Luckily, we now know what to name him. Smoky.