Something Fishy

On Monday i tried a new recipe and it turned out great, So i am sharing with all you other women out there wanting something new, and a more than the same ol same ol. It is called Broiled Tilapia Parmesan. Just for information sake, when i made it i changed the serving size to 2, and instead of celery salt i used dill, and instead of onion powder i used onion salt and it was WONDERFUL! Click Here for the Link.

Starting a new job is like.....

So I started work....yea! Well its not always a yea at first, more like a tornato has hit a filing cabnet (your head) and there is new forms and paper flying at you at every direction and you are trying to sort it all into files with all that is already there, that is now in the wrong folder!! But the happy thing is that in the end you can have a rainbow, somthing beautiful comes at the end of something so messy and life changing. We have such an amazing world, where nature can be so symbolic of our lives...and be so so beautiful. I found that picture online, and just thought that if fit. We are all so very lucky to live in this beautiful world, created just for us.

Just thought i would update and let you know i am alive--just have the after math of a tornato to clean up and rebuild!! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday Craigy!!! I have to say this on my blog cause he is half way across the world. I miss the little munchkin, and thought i would pay tribute to the little man on his first birthday!! So here is your song kiddo....
"As years go by they seem to do the nicest things for you, and every time you have one more your 12 months dearer than before, a very happy birthday, a very happy birthday, a very happy birthday especially for you. Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Craig, Happy birthday to you!!!!!!

Canning Party

So the last two days have been filled with boiling water, hot juices, and a very messy kitchen......what does that mean...yup canning party, and who was invited--well I wish more than was here, cause i am tired!! Those who came to my party are crazy but loved!! :) Thanks Mom, i couldn't have done it without you!! Jolene-- thanks for not going to bed as early as my mom so that i can call you with questions at midnight!! Enoch--thanks for taking such a good nap while me and grandma did the majority of the canning, Sadie--thanks for always laying in the way as to keep me and my mom on our toes and watching where we put our feet, the many aphid looking green bugs that have now been invited in to our home-not by me but by the beets, and last but defiantly not the least Brandon--you are amazing....what husband helps do everything in the house, even down to canning(sorry girls he is mine all mine!!)
Can I now say that i love canning....not the mess, not the aching feet and back from standing all day, but the feeling that comes from knowing what you just did.... be just a little self sufficient. It really does make a huge impact on your life. Looking at the dozens of bottles on my counter, make me so thankful that i have been taught to have food storage and to have an amazing mom and mother-in-law who have taught me and my husband how to can.
Now to say a little about what exactly I and my listed helpers did the last two days..... I put up 8 half-pints of fresh raspberry/apricot jam, and 4 pints of pineapple/apricot jam last night--being Tuesday night. Then today Me and my mom, and Brandon put up....are you ready for this......15 pints of pickled beets, 31 pints of normal beets, and 6 pints of beet jelly. Holy Smokes!! We did all the beets today!! Really it isn't today anymore cause it is 3AM--but who is that technical!!!
Well i just had to share this moment. This is my first canning experience and well i am loving it. I love that i feel like i accomplished something important--and useful! I am going to go to bed now!! Here are pictures--not all partiers are portrayed, but they are all muchly appreciated--cause it wasn't much for a party--just makes it sound fun!! :)

Its Official!!!

On Monday i got my admittance letter to graduate school. I don't know if i have even mentioned on here that that was in the running for the next two years of my life, but it is!! I am so excited. When i was nearing graduation i was so sad that i was really done. I felt like i was just scratching the surface, and was really not ready to stop learning. I am ecstatic to start. It is a two year program, i only go once a week for a couple hours--like 4 or 5 i cant remember. I think i am nuts for goin back, but yet am so super excited--funny how life is like that huh!!

Ok here are the details......
Ok so i guess i forgot details on my post about graduate school, so i will clear them up now......now that I have got some sleep and am thinking more clearly than the post i made last night--well this morning..... anyway. I am going to get my degree from USU, but through extension. My classes are all satellite classes--meaning i go a classroom and watch a screen for a couple hours. The classroom i am going to is in Ephraim at Snow Collage, Utah State has an extension program there. I start on the 28th of August, and am getting so excited. I have missed school, and am happy to return....plus how nice that i can work full time and still go to school--they make grad school a little more convenient than undergrad--thats what i think right now. Hope this clears up some questions.

Peas....The Process

How can this many pea pods only equal this many peas????????


Here is the first of the crops this year!! Holy smokes peas are a lot of work, for such a small return!!!! I picked and podded peas all day today and what do i have to show for it........a half of a bowl--ok so a large bowl but still! I ended up with only 8 cups of peas!!!
It is so fun to be harvesting our own food. With the absurd prices for food these last few months, i cant help but to think how lucky Me and Brandon are to have such a large garden. I will continue to keep you up to date on the harvests....there are many more to come!!
Oh and sorry for the forever to update...summers are busy!!!

Our little friend

What little bird is always everyones favorite? Which little birdy is one that even if it does make a mess, we always set more bright red food out for it to drink. What little winged critter does everyone get excited when we see it.......Empty after just 2 weeks!!
Our little friend
Her nest with the eggs---picture to come i hope

A hummingbird of course. I have always loved hummingbirds. They are so cute and little and well just a happy little birdy. Now having a house to live in, for the first time i can feed my own little friend--and she is a hungry one. I know it is a she cause she has the cutest timy eggs in her nest....one day if i am brave i will get a picture of her tiny eggs. She is a happy little thought, and even though she is the culprite to sucking down the pretty red sugar water, i will keep her.

Nothing Like Workin Hard

So this past week me and Brandon went to Gunnison to help with the farming and moving cows. It turned out to be such a good weekend. This weekend was very refreshing to me. I loved growin up on a farm, and have always loved working hard. Lately being home all day has driven me kinda nuts. Even though i never run out of things to do, i still get so bored and really want more to talk to than Sadie. While she is a good listener, she doesn't respond, and I start feelin a little weird talking to someone who cannot comprehend what i am saying. This weekend landed me with the opportunity to talk with other people, and to work hard which always feels good...even having a sore bum due to the fact that it has been since last year since i was on a horse felt good. I love that i married into a family that does cows, i have always wanted to be one who got to move cows up the mountain, that always sounded like a good time, just another bonus of marrying into such an awesome and fun family. We were all lucky to come out it with only one man with bruises and swollen body parts--out of like 9 people--i think that is pretty good. The only bad part is that it was Brandon. I really think he got bucked off in hopes that it would get him out of speaking in church Sunday....ha ha...just kidding. He was on a borrowed horse who has never moved cows before, so when they let them out it might have spooked him and he started bucking. This caught Brandon off guard and he jumped off, but caught his leg on the saddle horn( not really what it was, but i dont know what the other part is called, so we are settling for the horn)--causing him to have a swollen knee and a few bruises on his knee. I am so glad that is all that happened--I really don't like seeing him get hurt--it causes me to panic a little.
Well once the cows were up on the Mountain, we came home and hauled hay for the rest of the day. I got to go straighten bales--this took me back to my childhood, and really just made my day. I loved being out there, and workin(and getting a tan). I really helped prove the fact that someday i want a family farm that me and Brandon can raise a family on. Work is so food for the soul...I love it, Brandon loves it, and i know my kids will someday too.
Hope you like the pictures and i have on thing to say about the one with Grandpa on a horse...
and that is I impressed with Grandpa--he is 75 years old and on a green broke colt--Hats off to him!!! What an amazing man!