Monday, September 30, 2013

Monday Munchies... Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

We are chicken lovers in our house, and what we love even more than chicken is easy dinners. This one is ridiculously easy and pretty tasty! Please excuse the picture quality in this post... It is what is is. Just trying to get on the right track again.

Shopping List:
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1 can of Chicken Broth
1 Cup of Teriyaki Sauce
3 Cloves of Garlic
1lb of Chicken
Rice

I actually had every ingredient that I needed without going shopping so that was amazing!!!!

Combine Brown Sugar, Broth and Teriyaki Sauce in the crock pot. Stir together well.

Chop up garlic and add to mixture.

Cut Chicken into desired size and add to crock pot.

Cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours... Depending on your schedule.

Stir frequently.

Eat with rice or whatever you please! We added pineapple and it was awesome! Pretty sure that some stir fry veggies would have been heavenly!

ENJOY! (Don't forget to ignore the paper plate.... No time for dishes).

Basically the crock pot is an AMAZING invention and for my life it is one of those things that I could not live without!

Another thing that is amazing... My baby girl! Look how much she's grown! So OBSESSED!

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Day 770... Saying Goodbye

I have never been good at dealing with change. It's just not something that I think is fun to do. Emotionally it can be very difficult. But when something that you once loved begins to hurt the people you love more than anything in the world, a change becomes necessary. I am heartbroken and still in shock that I was able to make one of the hardest decisions of my life this past week. It was unexpected and will haunt me for sometime, but I have been blessed to know that the decision that I made, as difficult as it was, was the correct decision.

On Friday, after a super fun and freezing football game (even though we lost... again) I resigned from coaching.

Coaching cheerleading was my dream job. The past 4 years have been amazing! I have been able to take teams to a national competition, take teams to state, made friendships and developed skills and talents that I never knew that I had. Coaching was something I was good at. I know that. But it wasn't fair to my husband to watch me cry and be constantly unhappy every day, and not be able to do a single thing about it.

I learned that coaching in different communities is very different! Two of my years were spent in Utah. Here in Idaho coaching is very different in many ways. It's a much smaller community and a very different environment. As much I love that team and my job, the environment became toxic for my family, in the fact that it took time apart from time that could be shared together, time that was needed to be spen together, and my family is more important to me than my dream job.

It's been a very rough weekend and I'm sure things will not get easier for a little while, but I am looking forward to the time I will now be able to dedicate to the thing that matter the most. My family.

I have been told that doing the things that scare you the most are often the choices that would be most rewarding. I'm taking that leap of faith now. I'm changing my life to better my family.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

DAY 762... Smiles

I haven't been blogging as much as I would like. I am struggling with life a little and my time to blog is suffering because of this struggle. I'm trying to breathe my way through life right now and I am just so eternally grateful for my Aniston's smile that just brightens my day.
I honestly don't know how I survived 12 years of severe depression with out this angel in my life. She is such a blessing and such a ray of sunshine when my world seems so dark!

I love having an obvious blessing in my life to remind me that things probably aren't as bad as they seem.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

DAY 756... Family Above All Else

When I was a teenager, I didn't really like the idea of putting family first all the time. I would have much rather spent time with my friends, at sporting events, with boys... you know the normal teenage girl kind of thing. Well this week more than ever I realized how much I would just rather be with my family than with anyone else.

I had probably the most difficult week I have had in a really long time. I honestly cannot remember the last time I felt so hurt, angry, depressed and low for such a long period of time. It didn't help that my poor little family, including myself, have just been so sick.
 Such a cute sick baby!

 But when it comes to my life, I don't have time to be sick. And that's okay, I'm not complaining at all! We are so blessed that I have two jobs that I enjoy and that I make good money doing them. It is hard working 60 hour weeks and going to school and being a mom, but it is doable! Having a fantastic hubby helps A LOT too!

Spencer and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary on Tuesday. We were married at 8am on 9-10-11. I have this weird OCD thing about numbers, so I'm a little obsessed with the awesomeness of the time and day we were married.
So much has changed in two very short years!
We didn't do much celebrating that day because I worked and Spencer and Aniston were full blown sick by this time. We were able to celebrate this weekend because my sweet parents took Aniston from Friday night until Sunday afternoon. Such a blessing to have them so close!

This week was also our mini cheer clinic. Because it was scheduled during the first week of my job, there was no way I could be there. I was sad because last year this was one of my most favorite things to do! I am not good at delegating. It's definitely not because I don't trust people, it's because I know that when things don't go exactly how I had planned, I get really upset. Things didn't go exactly as I had planned and I got upset. I hurt people's feelings, which definitely isn't awesome, and I had a really hard time dealing with the fact that even though it's important to delegate, I don't think it's something I am capable of doing again. Definitely shed some good tears over the span of a few days due to this situation.

I also struggled with parents this week. Everything from cheer parents to afterschool parents. It's hard to remember sometimes that not everyone was raised to be respectful. Dealing with parents is by far the most difficult situation I have ever had to deal with, not matter what the situation! But I also feel as though my skills have improved in this capacity since I have been able to work with kids more often. I just have to constantly remind myself that my decisions and my choices are done to the best of my ability and that it is IMPOSSIBLE to please everyone.

I have the ability to quit my jobs at any time. I choose to work because Spencer and I are NOT reliant on our parents, thank goodness, and we pay for everything on our own. When we got married we created our family and we must provide for our family. I enjoy working with kids and hopefully making a difference in their lives and making their day a little bit brighter. I am blessed to have jobs that I enjoy.

While I have felt so depressed this week it has occurred to me that spending time with my family, and focusing on the things that will last for eternity and that are the most important in my life really does help me feel happy. I am so blessed to have a supportive husband, who would fight my battles for me if I would let him, and a beautiful smart little girl who has a crazy BIG vocabulary already. I had no idea that at 14 months babies could say Bonzai, Panda, Big Hug, Apples, Lila, All Done and Ryan. And that doesn't even include all of the small words she says. She can also now make any animal sound you can possibly imagine! And her latest trick is doing ballet. She was watching The Wiggles and they have a song called "I am a Dancer" and they do ballet. Ani is no dummy and began dancing with them immediately. It's pretty adorable! She is so amazing and really helps me to realize how blessed I am.

When the world lets you down, and it will let you down. Just remember family above all else and you will be okay.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

DAY 753... M.I.A.

I have been a little M.I.A this week. But I have a good reason... Many good reasons actually. My entire family (yes... all 3 of us) have been super sick. Spencer has been throwing up, fever, runny nose, sore throat. Aniston's nose is a constant faucet, and her poor little cough makes me want to just cry. We aren't even going to talk about how high her temperature got. Bad Parent Status. I have had the least of the issues with just congestion, a super sore throat, and a runny nose. Don't worry that this week was also my first official day back to work, with all 80 kids and my own staff. It was also my 2nd wedding anniversary and my mini cheer clinic. What a week to get sick right? Needless to say, Spencer has missed a TON of work, I have worked and coached every day because that's life sometimes and you just suck it up and wear your big girl pants. The next couple of days should be pretty fun and exciting, so hopefully I can down a couple gallons of O.J. tonight and get feeling better by morning!

Sunday, September 8, 2013

DAY 749... Affordable Blessings

Those of you who know me well, know that I am not a fan of our President. I'm not going to go in to detail as to why I feel this way because my reasons for these feelings is not the purpose of this post. I would appreciate people avoiding telling me a thousand reasons why I'm wrong too. Opinions are immunity to being told your wrong thank you very much! I am thankful to live in a country where I am able to write this post and express my feelings completely without worrying about persecutions. Having so many freedoms really is an AMAZING blessing! Probably a blessing that I too often fail to recognize.

Spencer and I have been doing a lot of studying, research, and putting a lot of thought into the idea of health insurance. My plan at work had increased from $87 a month to $307 due to the new laws that will be falling into place soon... And that is only health, not vision, not dental for me only, not Spencer and not Aniston. Affordable healthcare huh Obama??? Seems like your plan is working so far. To add me to Spencer's student plan would increase it from $300 a semester to $1500 a semester. That increase is also due to new laws... Explain to me how this is affordable! But really don't. I know that some people feel like they know everything but the only person i want an explanation from is the President himself. I have been stressing out a lot about this lately and I felt like it was important to make the correct decision. Trust me when I say that if we could pack up and move to Canada, until this country gets its head screwed on straight, we would!!!! In a heartbeat! Other plans that we considered would not give us the coverage that we need and will need in the future without costing us even more than both of our options. And in case you think I am the exception, my Dad just had a new faculty meeting at the University he will be teaching at and he was told that their insurance would increase by 80% in the next year due to these laws. Explain that one?!?! Just not cool in a thousand ways!


After going through all the numbers and going through the pros and cons of all our options, we went to bed without a decision made. Believe me when I say I really didn't sleep much that night. Due to the deadline for enrollment through my work we have to make a decision by Tuesday. When we woke up the next morning Spencer had an email from the University saying that a change had been made to his financial aid. When I pulled up his information I discovered that Spencer received an additional scholarship for the exact amount that the insurance would cost us per semester. What a blessing!!!!!! We have been working hard to follow our religious beliefs and to pay our tithing, and for me I believe that this blessing is a result of those choices we have been making. I feel good knowing that even if my country does not have my best interest in mind at least my Heavenly Father does. That's always reassuring and truly that is what matters most.

I have had so many people tell me to just quit working and get on government assistance since Spencer and I are both students, and that idea is tempting. Free anything is always tempting! But then I remember that I am a capable, responsible, smart and hardworking productive member of society. If I can work while getting a higher education and being a mom and a wife, I will do it! I will not take the easy way out! I will set a better example for my daughter. I will not be lazy! I will do what I need to do and count down the days until our country starts focusing on what's really important and takes care of the true problems that we are struggling with instead of making up and passing silly laws just so that it looks like something is being done.

Until then, I will continue to be eternally thankful for all of my blessings, my family, my religion, my life, my job, my values, and my gracious and loving Heavenly Father.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

DAY 748... Poison, Puppies & my Peppy Peeps


It has been a ROUGH week for me. Rough might be a understatement actually... I really just felt off and super sick all week. Aniston was also acting sick and weird and we couldn't figure out what was going on. Until we heard about the Chobani recall. A couple weeks ago I noticed an awesome sale on Chobani Greek yogurt, so I bought a bunch. Yeah turns out the ones I bought, after Ani and I ate half of them, were recalled due to mold. It's nice to know why I was feeling sick, but kind of makes me feel like a crappy Mom. I fed my baby mold? Really? Not cool. We are both feeling better, I would say we're at 80% now, but still, it was an awful week to be that sick. I still worked about 40 hours and coached, thank goodness school is on break! But that's real life right? That's just how things go sometimes.

During the JV football game Thursday night, one of my cheer mom's brought her puppy Dax. Aniston was IN HEAVEN!!!! Seriously, her smile and dimples! That alone makes me want a dog! But then I start thinking about Marley and Me and I remember dogs die... not cool. But really anything that can bring that much happiness and joy to my baby, definitely has a place in my heart.

Look at me and my BFF. I just love her to death!

I need to take a moment and just talk about this AMAZING group of teenagers!

Don't they look dang good? These kids are some of my best friends! They know everything about me! They give me advice (it's hilarious), they babysit my baby, they visited me in the hospital when I had my baby. We sing together, we dance together, we laugh and cry together, we are a family! I am so thankful and so blessed that I get to be their coach!

Work starts officially next week, meaning my employees start working. It's also Mini Cheer Clinic and halftime performance week. Our first (of 3) Varsity Home Football games, my 2nd wedding anniversary, and who knows what else week.

Just Breathe..........

Monday, September 2, 2013

Monday Munchies... Corn on the Cob


What is Labor Day without a BBQ? Even if it's raining and a little chilly. I LOVE BBQ's! There is just something AMAZING about them! Hooray for me that my family moved here and have a killer BBQ! Now let's talk about something else I love... Corn on the Cob!!! Having braces was the worst 2 1/2 years of my life because I could not eat corn on the cob! Pretty sure I ate about 5 of them the day I got my braces off. let's be honest here though, you know I attempted to eat it... definitely busted 3 brackets and my orthodontist was not too happy, and it was pointless because I never even really got to taste the corn. Now I am super low maintenance. It's just how I have always been. I guess I can be confusing to people since I am so involved with cheerleading, people assume that I would be high maintenance... not the case with this cookie. I can be ready in 2 minutes no matter what I've been doing. I like to have things be amazing, but I need them done quickly. That is why this recipe is AMAZING!

Shopping List:
Corn
Aluminum Foil
Salt
Pepper
Butter

1. Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees.

2. Shuck your corn! My husband just happens to be especially talented when it comes to this! I am one lucky gal!

3. Tear a generous sheet of aluminum foil. I would say about 15 inches long.

4. Take your naked corn and spread butter along the entire outside of the corn.

5. Salt and pepper the entire ear of corn.

6. Roll in aluminum foil.

7. Place corn directly on the oven rack and leave for 25 minutes.

ENJOY!!!


This one his a HUGE hit with not only my husband, but the kids! It's quick and easy and gives you 25 minutes to be able to get the rest of your delicious meal ready while the corn cooks! So Yummy!!!!!



Sunday, September 1, 2013

D.Y.I. No Sew Hair Bows

Sometimes I am just too lazy to do my hair. It's long, it's incredibly thick, and I am super busy. Having something that I can just throw in my hair quickly can actually make it look like I actually spent time trying to get ready. I easily whipped out 10 of these bows during 1 episode of Revenge... So about 40 minutes. Easy, quick and super cute! Basically I have a lot of random extra fabric and there's really nothing else that you can do with those small pieces so this is just the perfect craft!

The pictures, whenever I take them on my iPad, always decide what way they want to turn, so sorry if the pictures are a little wild.

YOU WILL NEED:
Fabric - At least 12 inches long and 8 inches wide
Mini Zip Ties
Hot Glue Gun
Hot Glue Sticks
Clips


 I found these clips at Sally's Beauty Supply. Love that place!

When you have your piece of fabric,  cut a 1 inch piece off the end off either end. You will need this to wrap around the middle of the bow a little later.
Take your larger piece of fabric, about 10 inches by 6 inches. You can really just use any size depending on how big or small you want your bow. Glue a line across the top of the fabric as it sits horizontally. Fold it over to the middle of the fabric.
 Repeat on the other side.
 Do the same now to the ends of the folded fabric and fold in. Make sure you glue down vertically on the ends this side. It works best of you have a long enough piece of fabric that the ends can meet in the middle once folded.
 Next, take the zip tie and place it in the middle of the fabric and pull tight. Pull the corners of the bow to make sure that you have wide ends of the bow. Cut off the tail of the zip tie.
 Remember your 1 inch strip that you cut off your fabric at the beginning? Flip to back side of fabric and glue down vertically on both sides and fold them into the middle.
 Skinny little fabric.
 Flip bow over to the back and glue a clip to the back of the bow. Just be careful of the hot glue... I burned myself several times and that's no fun.
 Place a dot (a generous dot) of hot glue on the front middle of the bow over top the zip tie and place the tiny folded fabric in the center of the bow.
 Turn the bow over and add glue to the back of the tiny fabric and fold over under the top half of the clip.
 Cut remainder of fabric off after the fabric has been folded over the bow and clip. Do this also to the other side of the fabric, and make sure to cut it off so that it's not visible from the front of the bow. Be generous with your glue. The more glue, the better in my opinion!
 Then you should have your finished bow!
 Easy, easy , easy!

I have worn my bows with buns, ponytails, and just to pull back a small section of hair. Super cute and dresses up even the most simple of hairdos! Next step, to make matching ones for my little Ani! What's the point of having a little girl if you can't be twinsies every now and then?