He loves me this much..

Yes, this is Forrest sitting outside on our porch. You may notice that he is not wearing any shoes. Yes, it is night time, and yes, those are nail clippers in his hand. You're probably thinking: what in the world is a grown man doing outside at night with bare feet and fingernail clippers in a suburban Orange County neighborhood?

Well I will tell you. He is married to a weirdo with an unexplained repulsion to the sound nail-clipping. It's as simple as that.

I am the luckiest girl in the world.

Do Good and Be Good

Forrest's mission president had this saying, "do good and be good." For our wedding, he gave us a plaque with that saying on it, and it's been up in our home ever since. Most of the time, I rarely look at it and don't think much about it, because it just sits there. But every once in a while, I see it and think that I should be doing better. Because if I make an effort to do a little better every day, then ultimately I will end up being a better person. I get so much into a routine - go to work, go to practice, come home, eat dinner, turn on the tv, maybe get some laundry or dishes or cleaning done, and go to bed. Often I ignore the fact that I'm not progressing. I'm doing ok from day to day, but not actively trying to make each day better than the last. Today when I got home from work, I looked at the plaque and decided to re-dedicate myself to making little improvements that can make me a better person. Today, for example, I think I will turn off the tv and plan my primary lesson early, instead of waiting until Saturday night or even Sunday morning to do it. What are you going to try to do a little better today?

Life in a Trailer: Part 2

One of the joys of living in a trailer is dealing with the holding tank. Yes, the tank that holds... well, you know what it holds. Lucky for us, this tank was located directly beneath our bedroom. Just lovely. It actually wan't too bad most of the time, but occasionally we would get the terrible smells radiating through the bedroom, and then through the entire trailer. Unfortunately, the tank got clogged a lot (We found out later that someone had thrown lots and lots of pop cans down the tank). So we spent hours and hours (by "we" I mean "Forrest") snaking the tank, filling it with water, and trying repeatedly to drain it. One day, Forrest got so fed up with it being full and clogged that he went to a trailer store and bought some acid to pour down the toilet. He leaned over and poured a whole lot of the acid down. At first nothing happens. And then he hears "gurgle, gurgle, gurgle," and then boom! The acid reacted with all the... stuff... in the tank and shot a stream straight up out of the toilet whole and all over. Keep in mind this bathroom is about 2 feet square - so when I say all over everything, I mean literally all over the floor, walls, and my dear sweet husband. Poor guy. Luckily it didn't take him too long after the initial shock to realize what was happening and shut the cap. Needless to say, we didn't use the toilet for quite a while.

Off

You know how sometimes you have those days where you just feel a little off? Today has been one of those days. It all started when I slept through my alarm. That led to me being late to work, then to finding out that one of my co-workers was sick so I had to take over her position for the day. And I was so looking forward to lunch - I packed some of my favorite soup and I really really wanted to eat it! Finally I got to my much-anticipated lunch break, only to be told by the school principle (before I got to the soup) that one of my athletes got in a fight today. A fight. Rolling on the ground, throwing punches - in her soccer uniform. Yep, we had a game today so they all wore their uniforms to school. So the whole school (apparently they ALL saw it) knows she's part of the team. She got suspended for a while, so I had to rearrange my starting line-up for the game today. Then the game. We played against a mediocre team. On Tuesday we won 9-0. We didn't miss a shot. Today we couldn't score a goal to save our lives! We finished the game 0-0. Drew would say "Booo!". That's exactly how I feel. Booo. Guess it was just one of those days.

Mini-series: Life in a Trailer Part 1

Many of you may know, for the last year Forrest and I lived in a 5th wheel trailer while he was in school. It was very tiny, but in a beautiful location in Southern California. The biggest reason we actually chose to live there was because it was roughly $1,000 cheaper per month in rent than an apartment would have been. Now, after living in a trailer for a year, I feel I have so many interesting and funny stories I would like to share! So I'll be writing a mini-series of random posts regarding our experiences in the trailer, intermingled with my regular posts. Hope you enjoy them!

It just so happened that the trailer was on a slant. So when you stepped into it, you could tell that one side of the trailer was visibly lower than the other side. This wasn't ever a big problem, but it did make things interesting when I was using the oven. Last year for Forrest's birthday, I decided to make him a cake for a party that we were having. I put it in the oven, and when I pulled it out, one side was all the way to the top of the pan, almost overflowing, and the other side was MAYBE 1/2" tall - it was so low on that side that it was burned and the other side was still not cooked all the way through! I was so embarassed that I actually had to take that cake to a party! But it was all I had, so I frosted it and tried to make the best out of it.. I think it turned out alright, even if it looked a little odd!

Just one of the many experiences I had during my life in a trailer!

My New Favorite Meal

I'm not usually the type of person that posts recipes on my blog. I do enjoy cooking, but it's usually just the same 10 meals over and over again. But lately, since we've been living in our new apartment and my kitchen is about 5 times bigger than my old one, I've started being much more creative in the kitchen. Actually, by being creative, I mean cooking Rachel Ray recipes every night :) But I found one of her recipes that I am absolutely in love with! And Forrest loves it too!

Mozzarella Grilled Pepper Salad

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

3 bell peppers (mixed colors)

1/2 pt grape tomatoes, quartered lengthwise

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

1/2 large baguette, slived crosswise into 3/4" slices

8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed

1/3 cup torn basil leaves

1. In a small bowl, combine the garlic and olive oil. Let sit while you prep and grill the bell peppers

2. Preheat a grill to medium-high (I use a George-Foreman when I don't want to go outside and grill). Cut bell peppers into flat panels (discard seeds and stems). Lightly oil the grill grate and grill the pepper pieces, covered and turning occasionally, until just softened, about 10 mins. When cool enough to handle, cut into 1-inch squares and transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the tomatoes, onion, and vinegar; season with salt and pepper.

3. Brush the bread slices on both sides with the garlic oil. Grill, turning once, until well marked and toasted, 2 to 4 minutes. Cut into large cubes.

4. Stir remaining garlic oil into the salad. Add the cubed bread, mozzarella and basil; toss.

So so good. It's bursting with flavor - yes, it's vegetarian, but you don't even notice because it's so good. And it's healthy, and relatively inexpensive (at least it is in California - maybe not in UT during the winter season).

Hope you guys enjoy! PS Sara, this is the meal I was telling you about on the phone last week!!

The Stresses of Life

Life if so beautiful and wonderful. But sometimes, life gets the best of us. Lately I've been feeling a little bit like life has just whipped me away into craziness. First of all, Forrest started his job! It's so great to have a steady income, but it's weird to think that we're completely out of that student phase of our lives. No more summers, no more 2 week Christmas vacations, no more eating lunch together.. It has certainly added to the stress of life. But it's a wonderful blessing and we are so happy that he has a job!

And then, on top of that, I just started a new part-time job as the head coach of a high school soccer team. Yes, the head coach! I am so happy to be coaching, and I do love my job, but man oh man can I say stress. My sister Ashley (who has coached quite a few sports) warned me that it was a lot of responsibility, and I knew it would be. But woah! It really is a lot of work. Not that I'm complaining - it is so much fun and I absolutely love the girls on my team. But my stress level has certainly gone up quite a bit! I would have to contribute a good part of my stress to the fact that I now have a 60 minute (20 miles) commute to work. But oh well, it's all worth it. I love what I do!! So, to the stresses of life, you won't get me down! I will just keep on chuggin away, and realize that soon this will all be memories that I will look back on and smile.