awkward and awesome thursday

So I've seen a few other bloggers participating awkward and awesome thursdays and realized that I am both awkward and awesome so here it goes:

AWKWARD:

• putting my hair in a french braid and having ALL the short pieces of hair fall down
• being late to all of my classes this week and walking into class in the middle of lecture
• getting sick and having to take nyquil at night. According to Brent I: sobbed, screamed, hit, and laughed uncontrollably.
• The following conversation which took place the morning after the nyquil incident:

Brent: "You went crazy. You were sobbing and yelling for me to protect you because someone was trying to take your arm."

Katie: "You must have done well, I woke up with two arms."
Brent: "Ya. Don't ever say I don't do well in crisis situations."

AWESOME:

• started watching the Biggest Loser again instead of watching people lose weight over the course of several weeks I watched it all in just a few days :)
• Beating Brent in Quiddler Sunday night
• During a classroom observation this week I recognized J- a boy who I met a few summers ago who spoke no English. We worked together all summer and he is a big reason why I am going back to be an ESL teacher. He read aloud from a book for the whole class. His English is awesome!
• rediscovering the cheese curds and rootbeer at A&Ws (I've gone three times in the past week!)

What is awkward and awesome in your life?

blogstalking

I have a confession to make... I am a blogstalker. One of the nameless who drop by your blog read every post you've ever written and don't leave a single comment. If you are blogstalking me right now feel free to keep stalking, but think about leaving a comment too , I won't judge you no matter how well we don't know each other.

I love blogstalking because there are so many witty, creative and genuine people out there who have the most incredible things to say. I thought today I would share some of my favorite blogs (I read tons of blogs so if I don't mention yours I promise you are an awesome blogger and I am still reading, just wanted to list the ones I am currently obsessed with)

1. Ashley Rose Reeves

Ashley is my sister-in-law, my friend, and my blogspiration. She writes regularly for two blogs, her family blog: http://justinandashleyreeves.blogspot.com/ which is filled with craft projects, awesome outfits, fun foods, adventures and my favorite: pics of the babies (my nephews) and http://adailydoseofdieting.blogspot.com/ which is a dieting blog that she started a few years ago. She turned it over to her sister Courtney, but still posts once a week. The blog catalogs her personal weight loss journey as well as giving tips for a healthy life. This blog was very helpful when figuring out our diet.

2. http://vintagerevivals.blogspot.com/

This is a recent find for me. I love her projects and hope that some day my house can be just half as cool as hers. Here is hoping that I'll have time to attempt a few of these projects this summer. If you have time go check out the awesome mirrors, as soon as I find a good mirror at the DI I am trying it.

3. http://peachtreecooking.blogspot.com/

This site is a mother and her 10 (yes TEN!) daughters. They post all of their recipes that they like. Some are from restaurants (Zupas soups, Olive Garden chicken etc.) and others are just good home recipes. I read a lot of cooking blogs but this is one of my favorites. Every recipe I have tried has been delicious. They almost always have pictures of the food which is a must for me, I have a hard time cooking something if I don't know how it is supposed to look. My favorite recipe that I make several times a week is the roasted vegetables. It is super easy and tastes amazing. (http://peachtreecooking.blogspot.com/2011/03/oven-roasted-vegetables.html)

4. http://diaryofabirthmom.blogspot.com/

Warning tear jerker. Sterling worked with me as an RA a few years ago. We both had a busy year and I wish I had gotten to know her better, she is an incredible person. This is her story of giving her little boy up for adoption. I am so impressed with Sterling and how she has handled herself through everything. She got engaged this past weekend and I am thrilled that she is so happy.

5. http://mormoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/

I love this blog because it is hilarious. The tagline is (NO) Sex in the City. The author is currently on broadway. She writes about her adventures in NYC. My favorite posts she has ever done are on engagement poses. (Look it up, SO funny)

Hope you enjoyed my favorite blogs. Let me know your favorite blogs to read, I'd love suggestions for others.

March Madness

Our blogging efforts at the beginning of 2011 were great but the past month has been an epic fail. So here is a post to catch you up on our life.

February

Sharolee and Jason's Wedding

Early in the month we got to go to Lindon for Sharolee's wedding reception. Sharolee is one of my closest friends. We really got to know each other through orchestra. Here are some pics :)

This is me with Libby's beautiful little girl Anna Liberty. Oh and Tess is making a funny face in the background.

Here is brent playing with Anna. They got along great.

Here we are with the happy couple. We are so happy for Lee and Jason. Also-- check out how great Brent looks-- this was after 1.5 months on our diet.

The black pack- we don't get to see these girls nearly enough. They are some of the sweetest, funniest and all around best friends a girl could have.

Valentine's Day

Forgot to take pictures of our cute dinner (darn!) Last year we started a tradition of having Valentine's at home. We made a big dinner-- fettuccine alfredo, chicken, asparagus, salad. This year for gifts we decided to do homemade gifts. I made Brent a valentine and he wrote me a poem. It ended up being a lovely evening and a nice break from homework.

Brent's Birthday

Brent turned 24 this year. We celebrated by:

• A big breakfast
• Going shopping for new clothes (for him)
• Dinner at Hamilton's
• Troy's state playoff basketball game
• Played games with Maren and Greg
• Watched movies until late

Overall Brent deemed the day a success. The picture below is old... but I feel like it is a great representation of my husband. This is his "don't be this crevice in my arm" look

March

Spring Break!

We decided to hit the road and head to California this spring break. Brent had never met my dad's parents and there were several other family members whom he'd never met. Also he had never had a Ferrarese's sandwich, which obviously needed to be fixed. We had a great week out there. I am waiting for Brent to edit the pictures so I'll do more about that topic soon!

Back to the Grind

Since spring break we have been busy with life. Brent is doing well in his classes, keeping up with homework and tests. In addition to work Brent is volunteering as an interpreter at the hospital. He is very involved with Spanish Ambassadors on campus and is serving in the Elder's Quorum Presidency. He does a great job of balancing it all. I am very impressed with him.

My life has been a bit chaotic this month. In addition to my classes, I am observing classes at Mt. Logan Middle School, which is close enough that I can walk over. I still LOVE my job as after school program director. We decided to apply for a grant to do a health fair and got $1000 to put it together. So now I am running around trying to make this fair happen. Friday to get the kids excited we had an international foods fair. I brought in several foods for the kids to try. My favorite (of course) is pictured below.

If you would like to come to our health fair it will be April 13 (Wednesday) in the Millville Elementary gym at 3:30.

That's it for now. I promise to keep up with this better :)

Deron Williams-Nets trade

Warning: this blog is a rant from my (Brent) mind. If you are not interested in the Deron Williams trade that happened earlier today, please disregard the following post.

Deron Williams was traded today to the New Jersey Nets for Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, two first round picks, and 3 million dollars in cash.

Most Jazz fans with whom I have consulted are all angry that Jazz management would dare trade away their superstar. I say, "good on you, Mr. Miller! That was a great trade!" Here are the reasons why:

1. Deron Williams was going to leave the Jazz in 2012. Period, end of story. He was not happy in Utah; that much is clear. He has been accused of running legendary coach Jerry Sloan out of town with his cantankerous attitude and a propensity to argue with the former coach. Whether or not that rumor has any substance is yet to be seen. However, Deron Williams was clearly not happy here. He openly expressed displeasure when the Jazz let go close friends and serviceable swingmen Ronnie Brewer and Wesley Matthews. He complained that the Jazz didn't do everything that they could to keep those key contributers. He cited the small market and the lack of desire from management to pay to keep players (though current evidence may point to the contrary. See: Paul Millsap). Had Williams left in 2012, the Jazz would not have received anything in return and would have been forced to move Gordy Hayward to the point and rely more on Hail Marys than on personnel to win games.

Getting Derrick Favors is the biggest boon in this trade for the Jazz. He is a possible up-and-coming superstar with more potential than anyone currently on the Utah roster. The greatest thing about this addition is the presence of Favors on the Jazz is that it makes other frontcourt assets expendable in trades by the upcoming (tomorrow) deadline (Kirilenko, Millsap, Okur, Elson, K-Fes, etc.). Kevin O'Connor's phone will be ringing off the hook with offers from GMs around the league hoping to get Millsap for cheap, Kirilenko's expiring contract, spare PGs Earl Watson or Ronnie Price, a few of the recently acquired draft picks, or any other possible combination of the various pieces making up the rest of the Jazz roster.

2. Williams' replacement, Devin Harris is still an above average NBA point guard. He is a former all-star putting up respectable numbers this year: 15.0 ppg and 7.6 apg. Though these fall below Williams' ridiculous 22 ppg and 10 apg, they are still plenty to put them over the top of certain other point guards in the league. He is not an upper-echelon PG, but the Jazz could do MUCH worse than DH filling in for D-Will.

3. The Jazz received two first-round draft picks, one from the Warriors and the other from the Nets, in exchange for Williams. This will help the Jazz to reload. FAST. The only thing Jazz fans can hope for is that management will go after a more high-octane, proven player that can lend more in a more immediate fashion than K-Fes.

4. The Jazz also received 3 million buckaroos in cash, which can be a huge aid for a team currently paying the luxury tax. Though Kirilenko's contract will soon be off the books, $3 million is $3 million.

Downside for the Nets: D will leave in 2012. My gut says he's looking to win. New Jersey hasn't won since Shaq was still The Diesel, Kobe was second chair fiddle, Reggie Miller was still the man in Indiana, and John Stockton was still in the league. Not exactly a stellar track record, if you ask me. Deron will sign with another team with a better chance to make the playoffs and may even head up to New York and sign on with 'Melo and Amar'e. If he does so, he'll need to add an apostrophe to his name somehow.... maybe D'ron or something like that.

Anyways...... long boring rant has now ended. This is as great as a move that can be made with a team trading away its centerpiece and superstar. No team can guage it a success when they trade away their leading scorer and playmaker. However, as far as deals of that nature go, this was a good one.

Cracked Wheat Pancakes (sugar free)

Beginning officially at New Years Brent and I began a new diet with the hopes of keeping inflammation down in Brent's back without having to take ibuprofen, because it is not good for those with only one kidney. We switched to whole grains, white meat and no sugar (natural sugars like honey are okay, just not added sugars like corn syrup).

It took a little bit to adjust but surprisingly the food has been really good and we end up cooking a lot more often. Some of our friends/family have asked me what we can eat, and really there are a lot of things we can have. Our favorite meals right now include:

-fish tacos (tilapia, whole wheat tortilla, black beans/non-fat refried beans, mozzarella cheese, salsa)

-stir fry (brown rice, chicken, eggs, veggies--usually celery, onions, carrots, mushrooms)

-turkey burgers (whole wheat bun, seasoned turkey patty, lite-thousand island, lettuce)

-sandwiches (whole wheat bread, low fat ham, laughing cow cheese spread) OR (whole wheat bread, natural peanut butter and mom's homemade no-sugar-added strawberry jam)

We enjoy snacking on raisins, triscuits, carrots and string cheese. We drink a lot of Crystal Light and on cold nights we make sugar-free hazelnut steamers.

As per request here is our favorite healthy recipe from my Aunt Dede. It is super easy and it makes the BEST pancakes. Dede serves them with huckleberries (AMAZING!) We use sugar free maple syrup.

CRACKED WHEAT PANCAKES

1 cup clean whole wheat

1-1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 egg

3 tsp. baking powder

3 Tbs. sugar (we substitute splenda)

1/2 tsp. salt

Blend 1 cup milk w/ wheat 2-3 minutes. Add rest of milk and blend for another 2-3 minutes. Add the rest of ingredients and blend.

Cook on a hot skilled until done.

ENJOY!

The "nanniversary"

After a crazy month of school we were more than ready to take off for a weekend getaway to celebrate our FIRST ANNIVERSARY!

Brent came back from class Friday morning and we made some sugar free cracked wheat pancakes (thanks to Aunt Dede for this AWESOME recipe).

After we downed the pancakes we headed to the Logan temple. Remembering where it all started was the perfect way to start our trip. We finished our visit there and talked about our wedding day [how nervous I was, how Brent did not have to get up that early to get ready, how all the ladies at the temple wanted to help me get ready, and how amazing it was to have our family and friends there]

After the temple we headed straight to SLC. We checked into the Little America hotel. We found a bed and breakfast deal that was SWEET! We immediately set off to check out the Gateway. Brent is a shopaholic and I enjoy window shopping. We hit up the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for some awesome sugar free treats (peanut butter cup was to die for). We browsed through a lot of clothing stores and eventually we each got a new sweater on clearance.

After shopping we went to Red Lobster for dinner. Brent had never been and since we both love seafood I thought it would suit us perfectly. Although the wait was long, the food was definitely worth it. We decided that Red Lobster is probably the only restaurant that we would eat ANYTHING off of their menu, it all sounded amazing.

After a great night's rest in a bed with plenty of pillows :) We woke up to room service delivering our breakfast. It was legit. Breakfast included (for each of us):

-eggs benedict

-hash browns

-a fruit parfait

-3 assorted muffins/pastries

-bagels, smoked salmon and cream cheese

-a platter of fresh fruit

-hot chocolate

After the awesome breakfast we decided to head down to Utah County for some sushi and a visit with Justin, Ashley and the nephews. We watched the BYU game (they lost) and then headed to get sushi at our favorite place, Osaka in Provo. It was fabulous (as always). We decided to stay the night and drive back early on Sunday. **Thanks guys for the hospitality

Our previous blog was Brent's perspective on spending the day with the nephews. We definitely enjoyed seeing them. Corgan was in such a good mood from the moment we got there "Katie EE Brent EE Green Turtle Samson" and Greyson was smiling and laughing and making his new "old man" noise.

It was the perfect break from work and classes. It was much needed! We threw most of the diet out the window for the weekend, but managed to not overdo it. Brent is doing awesome with no sugar and no white flour and I only cheat every now and then (since I am trying to gain weight on the diet it is kind of necessary)

Sorry for the lack of pictures. We forgot the camera and the cell phone pics did not turn out very well. I promise to take our camera on our next adventure :)

Cuteness Quotient

So, I know that I (Brent) don't usually do this, but I've come to a conclusion, and I feel that it must be shared with the world. I suppose that is the point of this whole blogging thing, right? I mean, I would never think of sitting anyone down and boring anybody with these random thoughts banging around my head, but when put in blog form.... MAGIC. Suddenly EVERYBODY wants to listen to me. More than anything, this blog is an ego trip for me. To all of you currently reading my musings: indulge me.

Anyways (say the aforementioned word in your best Nacho Libre accent), as I have begun scientific work in a lab outside of class, I'm going to practice my best scientific presentation of my observations and present a testable hypothesis.

Observation: babies are extremely cute (as we just spent the night with Justin, Ashley, Corgan, and Greyson, this blog is directed towards the latter two in this list).

Question: are babies cute at all times of the day? Does their Cuteness Quotient (yeah, that's a new system of measure.... patent pending.. DEAL WITH IT!) decrease as the night waxes on?

Research Hypothesis: Babies are cute at all times of the day, and the time of day has absolutely no influence on their Cuteness Quotient.

Prediction: upon observation, babies will ALWAYS be cute. Always.

Proposed experiment: Spend a night with a young baby outside of normal business hours, i.e., when they're not playing with toys, eating, or sitting in the middle of the room making eerily creepy yet quite hilarious old-man-this-is-my-last-breath-before-I-kick-the-bucket noises while staring at the ceiling. So, we decided to follow our subjects (Corgan and Greyson) to Wal-Mart after a night on the town at Osaka Sushi (blog to follow... LEGIT) when they would usually be in bed, observe behavior, measure Cuteness Quotient, and reevaluate prediction. We will then spend the night with one of these babies, and then evaluate cuteness midst crying, whining, and general fussiness.

Results: We followed Corgan and Greyson to Wal-Mart at about 8:00 p.m., when they are usually being bathed and being put to bed, and we observed that their Cuteness Quotient was even higher. Corgan ran around the store, randomly placing anything colorful or shiny into the cart, saying that he likes to "move it, move it" like Alex and Marty. Greyson was bouncing around in the seat of the shopping cart like Jeff Bridges mounted on Little Blackie, racing against time to save Mattie's life. Corgan continued galloping around the store in his unique little refrain of "I Like to Move It, Move It", giggling as absolutely awesomely as you can possibly imagine. Greyson was his usually smiley self..... those of you that know him know exactly what I mean. That night, we slept in Justin and Ashley's guestroom (mad props for the hospitality, you guys ROCK), and we were awakened at around 1:00 AM by hungry Baby Greyson, which I thought would have to decrease his Cuteness Quotient, but it invariably, as always, INCREASED. We were up with him until around 2:00 trying to get him back to sleep, and the little stinker (term of endearment) knew we were awake, so he decided to play. He kept propping himself up in his crib and laughing until he got our attention in a classic "pay attention to me" pose. VERY CUTE.

Conclusion: The Reeves Boys are cute, no matter what time of day. We had an AWESOME time at Osaka with Justin and Ashley, and had an awesome late night with Greyson. Cuteness Quotient definitely does not decrease with these two.... they make us excited to be parents!