Pointe Digital Giveaway!

I want to win soooooooo bad :)

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For Mom...

I'm taking a cooking class this spring term at BYU. So far, it has been fun/annoying (have you ever tried cooking with three people in a little kitchen?!) AND there is a lot of work involved. They have to make it a legit college class by making the workload heavy and somewhat difficult. Mom wanted me to send her some recipes that I've learned so far, so I thought I would just spread the goodness to everybody. I'm sure my mom is one of the very few readers of this blog anyways, so this is mainly for her (in the last few minutes of mothers day). Happy Mothers day, and happy cooking!

SHELLS AND VEGGIES SOUP

1/2 tsp. vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 clove garlic, chopped
1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth (1 ¾ cups water, 1 ¾ tsp. bouillon)
1 can (14 oz.) crushed or diced tomatoes
1/4 cup small shell pasta
2 Tbsp. dried parsley

1/4 cup chopped frozen spinach

1/4 cup cubed zucchini

1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

3 Tbsp. fresh grated Parmesan cheese - This will be put on the serving table, by the teaching assistant, for all to use when the soup is served.

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until the onion is soft, about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, parsley, basil and oregano to saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat , and simmer covered for 10 minutes.

3. Add spinach, carrots, celery and pasta. Cook 10 minutes covered at a low boil. Add zucchini and cook 7 more minutes.

4. Test for doneness by forking vegetables and pasta to see if tender.

5. Spoon into bowl; add salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese to taste. ENJOY!

Mom-- your chicken soup is better, but this is good too. More recipes to come..

Back in Action...

I apologize for my prolonged absence from the blogosphere. I quit blogging originally because I was so swamped with school. Then, I lost my camera chord thingy, and honestly, I think blogs are quite boring without pictures. Now that I've replaced it, I feel quite comfortable in "getting back in the swing of things" in terms of blogging. Be sure to scroll down to see new posts...

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

The Savior Taught--"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16). This girl in the video below reminds me of this scripture. I'm sure many of you have already seen this, but I just wanted to repost it. What a great example of missionary work. I want to be more like her.

Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.

Jessica's Wedding

Mark and I went to Vegas this past February for my cousin's wedding. It was so beautiful! Congrats Jessica!

Ashash and me

The next few pictures are of the awesome suite at the Palazzo. No we are not rich, we just got a REALLY generous deal on Hotwire.com. It was so big that I had to take 4 pictures to get it all. Lucky us :)

I love this cute little vanity. I've always wanted one of these!

yeah...Mark was pretty tired from driving all the way from Provo. he's a trooper

ShE's CrAfTy!

In Fall semester of 2009, I was able to take floral design at BYU. The tests and quizzes were surprisingly difficult (I had to memorize all the botanical and common names for flowers among other things), but I absolutely LOVED the labs. I got to make my own floral arrangements. It was so nice to have fresh flowers in my home every week. I miss it!


umm... obviously i didn't make the pie in floral design. BUT...I did make this pie (and I cried a lot during the process). Making homemade pie crust and pie topping is hard work! It was really good..so good that I made Mark take it to work with him so I wouldn't get fat =p I admire all you homemakers who actually enjoy baking...its tough stuff!

I made a bunch of boutonnieres and I made Mark pose with one before we went to BYU Homecoming :)

My favorite arrangement

The bouquet I made. The quality of flowers I used weren't the best, but I loved the handle!

The "everlasting design" (fake flowers)--I LOVE Hydrangea

The gift basket I made for my uncle

Me with my very first flower arrangement

Disney World

This past week, I was able to go to Disney World with my nieces and nephew to see "Icky, Innie, Oofy" (this is how precious Lauren, age 2, pronounces the Disney characters names). It was hard keeping track of everyone, but the little ones had a blast!

At lunch with Winnie the Pooh and friends, Lauren had eyes for Piglet. She ended up chasing after him while he went table to table to visit all the kids. She was very upset when she was returned to our table, screaming "PIIIGWWWWET!"

My Dad seemed pretty mortified when I jumped in the picture with Tigger. It was one of those "seriously?" looks. From then on, I fought the urge to get pictures with some of my favorite characters...even though the temptation was high at the Princess Luncheon we had at Cinderella's Castle.

I have a ton of pictures, so I will probably post more later. The weirdest thing I noticed at Disney World was that they actually sold alcohol there. Why in the world would you sell alcohol at a place for CHILDREN? I'm sure there are reasons but I just don't think it is appropriate.

It was a tough trip, driving from Virginia all the way to Florida with two little ones in the backseat. I'm not particularly fond of roadtrips... it was nice to spend time with family, though. Mark stayed home in Utah since he couldn't take off work, and I've been missing him like crazy! I finally get to see him tomorrow after 2 weeks of being apart. So long!