Saturday, April 23, 2011

Graduation

Yesterday I took the day off from school so I could go to Andrea's Graduation from BYU. (Of course it was my day off and I could've slept in, but it ended up being the only day I woke up early to go to the gym this week.)

Andrea graduated from BYU with a degree in Public Relations. She had a 3.98 GPA. She seriously is so smart. We were all so proud of her. She worked hard every semester to keep her scholarship each year.



Easter Pagent

My Aunt Carrie and Uncle Ed have been telling our family for years how much they enjoy the Easter pageant. We had never been in Mesa when the pageant was being held until this year. We were going to be there 1 night when it was being performed. It was also the night they performed it in Spanish. We went to the Mesa temple grounds and got head sets so we could hear it translated into English. Ayrika's headphones didn't work, but we found a spare. They also were only 1 ear, earphones so you could hear everything in Spanish in 1 ear, and English in the other.



It was a great program and it was neat to see the story of Christ's life only a few weeks before Easter. We were glad that we could finally experience it. My cousin Kellie made a really yummy dessert that we ate while we watched.

Spring Break

For Spring Break this year, I went to Mexico with my parents and sister, Ayrika. It was a very relaxing vacation. It went a little like this:

On Saturday we drove to Mesa.
Spent Sunday with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins.
Monday we drove to Mexico, played on the beach and had dinner.

Tuesday- Friday were the following schedule:
Gym
Breakfast
Pool
Lunch
Shopping/Fish Market
Read and Nap
Dinner
Read/TV

We have been going to Rocky Point almost every year since I can remember. This year was the first year where there was NO one there. Usually there are quite a few tourists there.


The condo complex that we stayed at had over 100 units. In the main building there was a gym, and each morning we would go work out. There were 2 ellipticals, 2 treadmills, 2 bikes, and a weight set. I am glad there weren't many people visiting that week, so I could always have a machine to work out on.


Eating lunch on a 3rd story roof top resuraunt.


They have a farmacia (pharmacy) on almost every corner. I had to take a picture of one of their advertisements for Bob.


One day after lunch we were walking around the shops and fish market. I had had a lot to drink at lunch and my bladder was about to burst. I remember seeing a sign for the restroom so I made my way towards it. I asked the man near the sign where it was and he told me it cost $1 to go. I was so mad, because I was about to die. So I ran back to my Dad and asked him for $1. Luckily he spared me some change.

One night we made our own shrimp cocktails and fish tacos. To go with them we made Brazilian lemonade. It was one of the best meals of my life. Funny side note, we went to the grocery store to get a few things for the cocktails. Instead of buying tomatoes, onions, peppers, and cilantro and chopping it all up, we just bought some pre made pico from the counter. What we didn't know is that their pico is full of jalapenos so our shrimp cocktails had a lot of heat!


The tide was super far out each afternoon. And of course there was no one on the beach all week. We had the place to ourselves.

Conference

At the beginning of April my family attended General Conference for the Sunday morning session. The Saturday before was a beautiful day, but the forecast said that it would storm on Sunday. We all slept at my parents house on Saturday night and when we woke up on Sunday morning we were more than surprised when there was at least 6 inches of snow on the ground. We knew it would be a stormy day, but had no idea that would snow that much.

 All of the kids squished into the back of the car.
 My Parents house as we were leaving.
 Bob and I, it was pretty cold and I felt bad that Bob didn't have a coat.
Here's the whole family, except for Elder Hales.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Watermelon & Pennies

Tonight I cooked and I loved having fruits and veggies to pair up with my meal. I cut into my watermelon and it was AMAZING!!!! Maybe it was my imagination because I don't eat sugar too often... but it was tasty.

Then I used my green beans and made this recipe.

And for our main dish tonight I made Chicken Gyros. I also used her recipe to make the soft wrap bread. It was really good, and I felt like it was pretty healthy. The sauce you make is made of mainly cucumber and greek yogurt.

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School update:

Our school was on channel 5 and 13 news yesterday and today. My friend Shellie teaches 1st grade. During a morning meeting with her class they discussed the disaster in Japan. Some of her students decided they wanted to help somehow. Their class put on a penny war in our school. It was so fun to see all of the students excited for the challenge, and to help Japan. At the end of the day on Thursday we had totaled $750. On Monday we had an assembly where we presented the money to the Red Cross. A cute little 1st grader announced the winner, and then told the school that they had raised $1500. I got teary eyed, I was so impressed with our school. A lot of our students are very poor, and they came together and surpassed the goal of the teachers.
 Principal Allan talking about the pennies and how much our school earned for Japan.
 The Red Cross members accepting the money.
Here is Shellie being interviewed. She is one of the best teachers I know. Her class was so ambitious and willing to serve others, because of her great example!

Here is the article from KSL, and it has a short clip from our assembly.
And here is the write up from the Daily Herald.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Bountiful Baskets

I love lunch every single day. It is so nice to be able to take a break from teaching, and talk with adults. I learn so many things during my lunch break. People bring leftovers which sparks conversations about new meals. I also recieved a recipe for amazing granola along with a sample this week. The women (and men) that I work with are amazing.

One day somehow we came upon the topic of Bountiful Baskets. And after that I knew I wanted to try it. With cooking more, and trying to eat more healthy I have noticed my groceries are not so cheap. Especially right now with trying to eat more produce. The other day I wouldn't buy ingredients for a salad because lettuce was $3 a head, and tomatoes were almost $3 a pound.

Today I went and picked up my first basket. I was so impressed with what I got.  Unfortunately the truck that brings the food was late. I woke up at 6:45, got dressed for the gym and planned on picking up my basket, running 4 miles, and then going to a gym class at 8. The truck got there when I got there so I ended up helping/waiting for almost an hour before we could load up our food and take it home. It wasn't a huge deal, but I hope things go a little more smoothly next time. I had to sacrifice my 4 mile run to get my produce, but I guess it's ok this week.

I ended up with:

Carton of strawberries (2) (I got an extra for helping put baskets together)
Bananas (4)
Apples (4)
Oranges (7)
Mangos (2)
Seedless watermelon
Head of lettuce
Bag of green beans
Green peppers (2)
Zucchini squash (20
Asparagus (2)
Tomatoes (4)

It costs $15 for a basket. If it's your first time you have to pay a $3 fee. So for $18, I have enough produce for me and my sister. I am really excited about this!

http://bountifulbaskets.org/

No news is good news?

I haven't had much to post about, because our lives are pretty boring right now. We have been going through the motions of school and work this past month.  Here are a few things that might be worth mentioning.

1. Andrea and I started cooking for each other once a week. I cook Tuesday's, she cooks Thursday's. It is so nice to not have to worry about dinner one night a week, and she always brings a tasty meal. A few of my favorites have been:

bbq chicken pizza
lasagna
chicken taquitos
mango chicken salad
brazillian stroganoff
chicken and fish tacos
spring rolls

2. I got released last Sunday as the 2nd counselor in the RS. And then I was called to be the 1st counselor in the new presidency. Luckily I found out I will still be over music and teaching so that was a relief. (For some reason I can never remember how to spell counselor.)

3. I only missed 1 day at the gym in March. It was my own fault for not going in the morning. I knew I didn't have time in the afternoon. Blah!

4. After going 7 months of the school year without any move ins or move outs, I got a new student yesterday. She is a darling girl who my class took in with open arms. The only challenge is that she is on a 1st grade level in reading and didn't know any of the math concepts I reviewed with her.

5. Bob has passed all of his tests this month and has been studying almost all day everyday. He took some time off last weekend to go camping and hiking at Arches with the Young Mens.

6. While he was gone I went and saw Hairspray at the Hale Theater. It was an amazing production and it was fun to see some familiar faces of friends from high school. Stephanie Southerland plays Tracy and she was phenomenal. I loved every second of it.

7. There is only 1 week left until Spring Break!!!!