cray cray delish

I don't think having weekends off is ever going to get old! I spent 6 years working and never had weekends off regularly. These past 4 months (I've been working here 4 months already!?? Cray Cray) have been so great having every weekend off! It's definitely not an overrated idea.

caramel apple + nuts. wisconsin cauliflower soup. cauliflower all cut up. my cute hubby

so I tried out that Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup and it wasn't the most amazing stuff. I'm sure it will get better the more I try to make it. I had absolutely NO IDEA how difficult it was to cut cauliflower into one-inch pieces! That stuff goes e v e r y w h e r e. I think I maybe added too much cauliflower but like I said, it wasn't terrible..it just wasn't delish either.

Speaking of delish though...Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory was on the shows yesterday and o.m.gosh their treats are soooo good. I got a caramel apple (all cut up and ready to eat of course) plus a box of amazing chocolates. I also may or may not have had a few spoon fulls of fresh homemade caramel but come on, can you blame me??

winsconsin cauliflower soup

So for my awesome job I get to look at other bloggers and find some I want to come on the show. Cool beans right? right! except sometimes I get to comparing myself to their blog-self and it can bring a girl down sometimes. The good news? I found a recipe for Zupa's Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup! Now the fat girl inside of me is sooooo excited to try this out. Bart got in his head that we need to have soup every week which means I am always looking for new soup recipes


On that note---we still have a container full of my Chicken Noodle Soup that has NOT been eaten. what's the point of leftovers if they don't get eaten? I should probably mention that I forgot to add Chicken to said Chicken Noodle Soup...maybe that's why it's still chillin in the back of the fridge (chillin...hahahah get it? )


...back on topic! I am going to the grocery store and picking up these ingredients, I will let you know how it turns out. It doesn't look too difficult and I am becoming an expert in the kitchen (ha!) so one can only assume this will end well.

another side effect of checking out all these fun girls online is the instant realization I get that my wardrobe SUCKS. i need someone to take me shopping and dress me. please? anyone? Maybe I struggle because as a general rule I avoid all clothing stores and malls. Once and shopping addict ALWAYS a shopping addict and I have learned the best way to keep me from scratching my itch is to just not go into any of those stores. good policy I know, but clearly my wardrobe is lacking because of it.

Holiday Update

So my blog told me I have to start paying for more space if I want to post more pictures. Luckily I FB stalked enough to find out that I just had to add another "author" (aka Gmail account) to my list and I'm back in action. It's really annoying the hoops we have to jump through to stay cheap....amiright????

Anywho.....because of said photo-problem I am a little late putting these pics up but that's okay because it's not even December yet so I am still technically ahead of schedule.

On Thanksgiving we ran the Utah Human Race. It was really fun and really cold. Bart had his best time and I....finished! Go me.

 
Thanksgiving was great as usual. We spent the day at my parents house bonding with the fam damily...later that night we had dessert at Bart's mom's house. I love Thanksgiving and have so many blessings to be Thankful for!

Can I just say that I love creating new traditions with Bart and our future family?! We decorate the house on Black Friday while watching "Christmas Vacation". This year we even got fancy and put Christmas lights on our front windows. For now it's not much, but the few decorations we have make our apartment so cozy!

Year two of tree decorating...I think I'm getting better!

Our new ornament (B for Bowen....Get it???!)

This was our first family ornament from last year, go Aggies!

and that's my cute Husband getting cheeky

As Bart would say, this is our 2nd Christmas married, 3rd Christmas in love and 4th Christmas together 

Another tradition is that Bart reads A Christmas Carol every night. Let me just tell you that Charles Dickens really knows how to confuse your tired little brain if you read this too late at night. Bart's a great reader though so I enjoy this little part of our Christmas nights :)

Can't Afford Christmas

I was reading THIS article about Americans saying they can't afford Christmas, or Christmas puts too much financial stress on them because they go into debt.

Well here's a crazy idea. IF YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY FOR CHRISTMAS, THAN DON'T HAVE ONE.

Okay okay, that might seem a little extreme, and maybe it is. but if people are going to complain about not having enough money for Christmas the solution isn't to get a new credit card or payday loan.

"Think Finance CEO Ken Rees said the fact that consumers of all income levels are using layaway shows there is a demand for financial options beyond just credit cards."


Hey I have a financial option for you besides credit cards...it's called SAVING MONEY

Christmas happens at the same time every year right? It's not like November comes and BAM the date for Christmas is announced and everyone is surprised so no one has saved money. No. We all know it's coming and we have all had 11 months to save for it. I think it's really sad that 45% of Americans would prefer to skip Christmas because they are focusing on the financial side of it.

Maybe it's because I grew up with parents who didn't get into debt  for stuff like that and some years that meant we didn't have very much for Christmas. but I survived, my childhood wasn't ruined, and I grew up to understand what Christmas SHOULD be about.

This holiday isn't here to stress everyone out and make people fight over budgets and money. It's supposed to be about family, faith and service.

Quotes

Our relationship expert was on the show today and had a bunch of quotes. I don't know where the credit belongs on any of these, but I still wanted to share!

In life you’ll realize there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you, and some will teach you. But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.

Love is not about sex, going on fancy dates, or showing off. It’s about being with a person who makes you happy in a way nobody else can. 

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest 

compliment, or the smallest act of caring – all of which have the potential to turn a life around. 

Choose your relationships wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. 

Being alone does not mean you are lonely, and being lonely does not mean you are alone. 

Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.

You know you’ve found true love when you catch yourself falling in love with the same person over and over again. 

Don’t wait for the right person to come into your life. Rather, be the right person to come to someone’s life. 

Someone else doesn’t have to be wrong for you to be right. 

It is okay to be angry. It is never okay to be cruel.

A silent hug means a thousand words to the unhappy heart. 

Don’t mess with someone’s feelings just because you’re unsure of yours.

Lies help no one in the long run. So… 1) Don’t say “I love you” if you don’t mean it. 2) Don’t say “I understand” if you have no clue. 3) Don’t say “I’m sorry” if you’re not. 4) Be honest with yourself and your loved ones.

Good relationships don’t just happen; they take time, patience and two people who truly want to work to be together.

Falling in love is not a choice. To stay in love is. 

Love doesn’t hurt. Lying, cheating and screwing with people’s feelings and emotions hurts. 

Give, but don’t allow yourself to be used. Listen to others, but don’t lose your own voice.

Don’t look for someone who will solve all your problems; look for someone who will face them with you. 

You don’t really need someone to complete you. You only need someone to accept you completely. 

Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness. Let it go. 

Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch. 

A real person is not perfect, and a perfect person is not real. 

True friendship and true love do sustain the tests of distance and time.

Good relationships are not just about the good times you share; they’re also about the obstacles you go through together, and the fact that you still say “I love you” in the end.

Birthday Worthy of Pinterest

I have such a sweet husband! He totally showed off his creative side yesterday for my birthday and it was so much fun! 

When he gets home from work he has these beautiful flowers (he is getting much better at picking them out..these weren't near death). He hands me flowers and a Kit Kat with these notes

"Flowers cause you're beautiful. KitKat cause you're sweet"

Cute right? Well it didn't stop there.......

"Meat cause you're an animal"

 First stop...Ruby River! If you know me, you know I love ribs. It's kind of hard to find a place with good ribs, but this place is not too shabby. Of course dinner came with a note as well....

At dinner he gives me my present...a Fossil watch! I have been dying to have a classic watch like this and he got exactly what I wanted! This note was the best.

"Watch cause you're not always on time, but I'd like you to be"

After we got done eating he hands me one more note....CHICK FLICK! yay! I have been wanting to see Pitch Perfect since it first came out, and he was kind enough to take me. The movie was SO GOOD. Have you seen it? We both loved it and it's one of those I'd like to own (which is saying something because i'm really not a big watch-movies-more-than-once person)

"Chick Flick cause I love you that much"

 To summarize: Bart's the greatest and I had such a fun birthday! Wasn't he just so creative? I was proud and I even asked if he got the idea of Pinterest (he looked at me with disgust). Thanks Bart, you're the best! 

Plus, the celebrations aren't even over yet because I get to go to my parent's on Thursday for family dinner, and then ST GEORGE!

23

Being 23 means....
acting older than I really am
having the love of my life and best friend all wrapped up in one
knowing who my true friends are,
and realizing i could be such a better friend than I am
being an adult when i just wish i could be a kid 
no more problems with boys, girls or parents
and living a drama-less life
being thankful for all that I have,
and knowing i am always being watched over

who says turning 23 doesn't matter?
that it's not a milestone,
but isn't every year special in its own way?

moved out at 18 
started college at 19 
life slapped me in the face at 20 
got married at 21 
started my dream job at 22
 .......what will 23 bring?

Snow, coats and naps

Well my birthday celebrations have officially begun, and mother nature decided to give me snow to start things off right! I loved it! The storm was awesome. I loved watching it snow all day at work and then coming home and getting in sweats and slippers and some hot cocoa of course....can't forget the cocoa

On Saturday it was too snowy to go running, so Bart and I decided to go jean shopping for my skinny hubby....it wasn't a pleasant experience. 

We went to Khols first and by the end Bart wasn't a happy camper. I found myself an AMAZING red coat (pics to come) but we couldn't find any pants that fit Bart.

 Who knew losing 30 pounds would make it harder to find jeans?? 

We went to the mall next and we found ONE pair of jeans...three different stores and only one pair. Not even the same style, but different brand, fit the same....so, ONE pair of jeans later we were done shopping....

we probably won't be doing anything like that anytime soon. 

Later that day Bart and I met his mom and brother at Red Rock for some lunch.

Love that place!

All bundled up with 3948 layers to decrease the possibility of me whining about 

the cold

 And what would a Saturday birthday celebration be without taking a nap?? 

Which is exactly what we did and it was a pretty great nap.

To finish off the day we headed down to my old stomping grounds (any by stomping grounds I mean the place where sad, terrible memories were made). Our nephew was playing in a championship football game at Lehi High so despite the 20 degree weather, we went and watched! His team was playing Lehi's team which of course means Lehi lost...because that's what Lehi High School does....lose!
It was freezing but since it was a little league game it was only an hour and half so we survived.

All this fun stuff and my birthday hasn't even happened yet! Stay tuned :)

Snow Snow Snow

It's snowing!!

I am sitting here at my desk watching the snow come down and I am getting so excited. I love having big windows to look out and watch the landscape change. I am definitely okay with snow in November. This is making me want to go get big comfy sweaters to just curl up with come cocoa.

Happy winter everyone!