Getting Crafty

Tonight while Bob was at school studying like crazy, I got my craft on. I now have burned/blistered fingers from the glue gun... but I am happy with the outcome. I went to Hobby Lobby after school, I shouldn't have gone. I loved everything and wish I could've come home home with a cart full.

The reason I went to Hobby Lobby was to get 2 styrofoam trees and some tissue paper. And with that, I made these:(If you were to turn them around, you would see styrofoam, they took forever to complete, so I only put tissue paper where it was needed.)

We haven't got a Christmas tree yet, but hopefully we will do that sometime this week. We didn't get one last year, but we just rearranged our furniture so one will fit. Until then, we will enjoy the decorations on our wall of shelves. (I have a few more things I want to do, and hopefully they will appear on the wall soon.)

2 Years Later

Bob and I went on our first date two years ago. We went on our first date Saturday the 22nd and the following week was Thanksgiving. We saw each other everyday that week, and on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Bob met my family. I went through my pictures from 2009, but I didn't end up getting a picture of us together.

Thanksgiving Break 2008
Thanksgiving 2010

Last one I swear....

Remember the nail shields? Well you can get them for half price through screaming deals. It is the deal of the day.

Go Here and sign up for an account. I just bought some and it said that the deal was available for 29 more hours.

Thanksgiving 2010

Bob and I both woke up up at 8:30. Bob was going to go play basketball, but they ended up not going. Luckily for me, because he helped me a ton.

I made a key lime pie, and Bob prepped for the apple cranberry pie. Then we put that together. Then Bob got ready and I started preparing the vegetables. I made fresh green beans with mushrooms and shallots. Bob made cheesy cauliflower. When I pulled the apple cranberry pie out of the oven, it looked really juicy. That's when I realized that I forgot to put the flour in it. *Why didn't I reread the recipe before I started baking???? Ah!

We were down to the wire when we left at 12:10. Of course we got about 5 minutes away and I realized I left my straightener on. So we had to turn around and come back. Even though we were a few minutes late, we were actually one of the first ones there.Thanksgiving was amazing. My favorites always include my Grandma's homemade cranberry sauce and my Aunt Shauna's yams. (Basically a yam dessert that we eat as a side.) There were 10 pies total for the contest. We all waited in suspense while the judges judged the pies.Bob and I ended up taking 3rd place, with the ....... cranberry apple pie. I was so shocked. But super happy. We got a gift card to jamba juice. My aunt Brenda took 1st with an apple pie, and 2nd place went to Emily with 2nd place.

My winning pie! My Dad was so proud to finally have someone in the family win, even if it was 3rd place. Emily and Matthew with their 2nd place pie!
My cute cousin Ryan licking all of the cream off of all the Turkey Oreos.
Grandma and Grandpa writing Christmas cards to my brother and cousin who are both on missions.

Cake Pops or Cake Disaster?

This morning I went to a couple grocery stores to get the ingredients for my vegetables and pies for tomorrow. My cousin Laken sent me a recipe for one of the pies I will be making. Attached to the recipe was another recipe for German Chocolate cake balls. I have never made them, but they only have a few ingredients. Whenever I look at the cake balls/pops on Bakerella's website, I fall in love with them. So I googled Turkey Cake Pops, and POOF, there they were on her website. So, I said to myself.... I should make some of those for our Thanksgiving meal tomorrow.

I went to a couple more stores to get all of the stuff and came home on a crafty/foody high. I was super excited.I made the cake balls and put them in the freezer. That was pretty easy.
Then I made little Turkey faces. I even got edible pens so I could draw on their little eyes. This was a little more challenging, but doable.I dipped the chilled cake balls in chocolate. (Didn't take a picture, I was a mess.)

That's when it all went downhill. Maybe I should've googled how to dip the cake balls without making a mess. Or when to put the stick in the cake, or when to put the pretzel legs in.

When I went to put the stick in and the pretzel legs, it basically broke the chocolate shell around the cake. After the first four disasters, I basically cried to Bob telling him I should never do things like this. They are hard, messy, and I am not good at them. He said they looked wonderful.... and motivated me to finish them. (I used a knife to break a small hole in the shell before sticking the stick and pretzels in.)

I am glad I finished them, but they basically look horrible. Hoping that the taste makes up for the appearance.
*** Not all are crooked like this one. I just was too tired to look through all of them to find the best one.

I have one more tray of cake balls in my freezer.... If you want to attempt it, let me know. You can have mine.

Nail update...

Thank you to all of your ideas for Thanksgiving vegetables. My mind is spinning, I know I will be making cheese cauliflower (one of Bob's favorite) and another dish.

One of the traditions for my family is to have a pie contest. Whoever is hosting Thanksgiving asks neighbors or friends to come judge our contest. In the past we have had over 20 pies. Anyone can enter and there are always fun prizes. (2 years ago it was tickets to comedy sportz, and in the end the whole family went with the winners. This was right after Bob and I had started dating and he met my whole Hales side of the family.)

So any who, I have a few pie ideas, (yes I procrastinate) but if you have a fool proof favorite pie, feel free to share it with me. Last year I tried the French Silk, which was pretty good.... and I did master the pie crust- but it didn't appeal to our judges.

Jamberry Nail Update:
If you buy them, make sure you watch the How To Apply video. I didn't watch it, and I wish I had prior. I was just so excited.

My toenails are still going strong, but my fingernails lasted 1 week and I peeled them off. I would recommend having a friend put them on for you. It's so hard to do it one handed. If the shield sticks to your cuticle or skin at all, it doesn't seal properly. Between that, and me washing a million dishes by hand this week, a couple started to come up on the sides.

I can't wait to order these holiday designs.
To view all of the nails, go to their website HERE.

Thanksgiving HELP!

I was just notified that I will be bringing the vegetable to our Thanksgiving meal this year. Yes this is the first year I am contributing something on my own from my own kitchen. (Minus the pies for the pie contest, that I have never won.) Sooo.... I am in need of some help. What do you have for your Thanksgiving vegetable?

Recipes, ideas, anything.... please help!

Fun Designs

A friend at Enrichment last week had super cute fingernails and I found out they were just a decal. I ordered some from Jamberry and they arrived today.... Apparently the company is in Orem, so they didn't have to travel very far.

They look pretty cute, especially on my toes. Maybe because I can put them on both of my feet easily. Like when painting, it's always so hard to do your right hand. (Or dominant hand)

They seemed kind of expensive, but I got 3 for the price of 2. And I only used 1/4 of a color for my hands and less than a 1/4 for my toes. I just hope they stay on and last a while. If they do, they are definitely worth it. You can see all of the designs at their website.

I will keep you updated.Sorry about the dry feet.

Mr. T

Did I mention that Mr. T. came to my class on Halloween? How funny is this kid and his costume? He came to school an hour late because his dad was shaving his head. None of the kids in my class got his costume, but the faculty sure got a kick out of it. I wish I had gotten a better shot, he had a gold belt on... loved it!

Ups and Downs of 3rd grade

This week has been a crazy week. At my race on Saturday I talked to our school sub, she said she would see me later in the week as she didn't have any jobs early in the week. She jokingly told me to try and get sick so she could work. Saturday night I felt a soar throat coming on and felt crappy all weekend. I went to school on Monday, and by the end of the day I knew I wasn't getting better. But since it was just cold like symptoms, I just decided to take off Tuesday morning, and come in after lunch. It was so nice to sleep in and take my time getting ready. I felt ok.... but wasn't feeling perfect.

We have been working on Multiplication and Division this month. We did an art project using arrays. They were given a couple sheets of paper to create whatever they wanted as long as they figured out the multiplication problem for each array. We had some really cool things created. This is what two girls put together for me.
Aren't we sooo cute?

Today a student pooped their pants twice.... Yes you read that right. Once in the morning, got new clothes and then later in the afternoon it happened again. -- This will be the 4th incident in the past 2 weeks. So not only am I teaching, but I am using my sense of smell to see when this student is stinky.

Over Thanksgiving break I am getting a Smartboard (an interacative whiteboard) installed in my classroom, which I am super excited about. I recently took a class to figure out how to use it, and the board has been sitting in the office for the past few weeks, waiting to be installed.

Newest Onesies

For Enrichment (Mid Week Activity, whatever your supposed to call it) last month, we were asked to show off a talent. I had a few onesies that I had made and wanted to show. But the night of, I couldn't find them. I realized I had left them at my parents house while stitching them during conference. And there wasn't enough time to drive there and back.

I hurried and cut out some holiday themed ones, and ironed them on. I just barely finished stitching them this weekend. (Having a baby shower and a new nephew in one weekend gets you motivated!)

Thanksgiving Themed Onesies:

For a girl:

For a boy:
Christmas Onesie: (Yes ignore the fact that it is not centered, I was in a hurry when I ironed it on, and I am a little embarrassed.)

I made this football one for my new nephew Coy. I am so excited to meet him over Christmas break.

Hubby Shout Out!

Pharmacy school is HARD. It stresses me out more than Bob sometimes. He has been doing amazing and I just wanted to tell him how proud I am of him. This past week he was at school at least 12 hours a day studying. Thursday he left for school at 6:30AM and got home at 10:45 PM. Luckily all of his studying paid off and on Friday he passed his test.

In his program they take 1 class every 2 weeks. If on that Friday they pass (with a 90%) they get the following Monday off. If not then they are retaking the test that Monday. So Bob has been lucky to have every other Monday off the past few months.

Every other Friday they work in a pharmacy. Bob's placement is in South Jordan and last time he went, the Pharmacy had been robbed by gunpoint the night before he went. I get so nervous for him!


Here is my cute husband in his lab coat. I am so proud of him, he seriously puts in so much time studying and is doing a great job! Congrats babe!

Where did my weekend go?

I always find myself on Sunday night thinking where did the past 2 days go? They seriously go by so fast. Friday night I found myself sitting at home enjoying Cafe Rio and planning my Relief Society Lesson. Bob left for his Young Mens camp out. -Teaching Relief Society stresses me out and I get a little ornery, so it worked out perfectly that he was gone that night.

I woke up early-ish and Mary and I went to Lakeridge Jr. High for our 5k. We were there way too early, but we were excited to wear our new shirts and run our first 5k together. We ran 2 10ks this summer and this was our last race of the year. My goal was to run it in 30 minutes, but with only a few days of training, I didn't quite make it. I ran it in 31 minutes 20 seconds. There were a few teachers from my school also running, it was a great day. To see a recap of the race check out SteeleStrong.

I came home got ready and:
-Bought a gift
-Went to a baby shower
-Packed my laptop and some onesies (See my new holiday onesies in another post!)
-Went to the neighbors and watched the BYU game (well I reviewed my lesson and stitched some onesies.)
-Went to the store again to get a birthday present
-Went to Quinn's 1st birthday party

Quinn turned 1. He is darling. Mary and Russ made an awesome cake. Older brother Korbin was so excited for the presents and was pretty sure they were part his. Quinn hated the cake at first, but ended up diving in later on.
Sunday we loved sleeping in an extra hour. I taught my lesson in Relief Society and am so happy to have that done for a few months! *Teaching adults is just not my thing. We spent the day hanging out at our house relaxing. Happy Sunday!