Phoenix

Last week Josh and I and the girls flew down to Phoeniz to visit Josh's Brother's Family. We had such an awesome time. This is the first time we've been down there and I haven't come home weighing less. Linden and Josh like to eat interesting food, food I do not eat, and therefore live off of cereal when were there. This time I told Josh if he wants to eat the weird things then be my guest but the girls and I weren't going to. We needed real food.

Now when I talk about weird it's usually something like this...

Frog Legs (bought raw at the chinese market and then BBQ on the grill)

They also like tripe and tounge, things I just can't swallow. Don't think I judge all this by look, I usually try everything at least once. (I drew the line at tounge though, no way)

Or something equally gross, this time it was Rocky Mountain Oysters. For those of you not familiar with them they look like chicken nuggets. Deep fried and served with a side of Ranch or Ketchup; but they aren't chicken, they're balls. Yup, bull balls to be exact. It only took Josh eating a few to realize he can no longer stomach them either (I also drew the line here). It seems wrong for a man to eat nuts. Just sayin'...

We spent some time up at the Indian Ruins in Sedona. Montazuma's Castle and Well are houses built on the side of cliffs. It was really neat to see the architechture used for a supposed unlearned people. The made their houses in the cliffs to protect them from the elements and give them excellent defense agains enemies.

We went to the park near their apartment for a few hours. It was the girls' first time at a park and they seemed to like it. Katie was scared of the swings at first but once she saw Maddie was having a good time she lightened up.

We went to The World Wide Zoo and Aquarium. It was super expensive and I'm sure I wouldn't spend that much to go again (with a coupon we paid $23.00 per person, babies are free). They had a lot of rare birds and monkeys. While looking at a lot of the monkey pictures I've decided I took way to many pictures of their butts. We saw some turtles "doing the deed" in the petting zoo. I took video of it for a couple of minutes, because I'm apparently weird like that (but I was one of probably 10 people who also took video, so it's not that weird), because it was just so funny.

Do you think this face means she knows what their doing? Maybe we can skip the whole conversation! :0)

Afterwards, we went to Abuelo's Mexican Restuarant. Loved the food, not so much the hair in my enchilada, but I got my meal for free. Madisyn wouldn't even touch her quesadilla, she wanted the 7 layer dip so she ate healthy that night.

James and Tonja came down the day before we left (Josh's sister) and we went to dinner and breakfast with them. The dinner was good but the breakfast was amazing. We went to a place called Butterfield's. If you ever go to Phoenix, this is the place to eat. They have amazing food and awesome German Pancakes. Josh had blueberries for miles and my omlete was to die for. It's only open in the morning and early afternoon and if you don't go early you'll never get in but It's awesome, worth the wait.

The way home was an adventure. Flying Non-Rev (code for you don't pay much if anything because you work for an airline) was a joke. We got to the airport at 11:00. Our flt out was at 12:02. Went through security and missed the flight because it was full. I expected that so we just rolled over to the next flight. While waited once again realized the flight was full, but you never know. We got on the outbound flight when it was sold out. I love when people don't show up. Anyway, I called Delta because they also had a flight out within 20 of the one I was listed on. The guy listed us and then said there were 20 seats and we wouldn't have a problem. We leave the terminal and catch the bus to Terminal 3 for Delta. Go through security (now keep in mind I have lotion in my purse and two sippy cups with water 1/2 full, went through security in Salt Lake and at Phoenix, so this is my 2nd time through security.) The old guy has a fit that I have sippy cups with water in them (I always travel this way, they just test it and let me go), he's so irritated that he makes me have a pat down (super invasive, the girl put her hand in my pants to feel my waist band and she touched "the girls", totally awkward), escorts me out to dump out only one sippy cup, I get to take the other one through), gives me a lecture about how he's going to have to call supervisors to come talk to me and them makes me go through security again.

We run to Delta and get our passes. Grab some Wendy's for the babies and wait. The sweet and totally helpful (did you catch the sarcasm there) ticket lady at Delta told me that we were on the list and there were still 20 seats so we would be fine. She even gate checked our stroller. When she was about to board the plane she came over to Josh and said "Oh, your flying standby, right?" Josh says "Yes" and she walks away. Now keep in mind that I told her we were listed for another flight in another terminal and I needed to know if we were going to make it. She assured me at least three times that there was no problem. So she boards the plane and then gets on the intercom with the following messgae...

"For all those waiting on standby, be advised that this flight is full. We cannot get you one. If you want to wait until the plane leaves the gate I can roll you over to next flight!" (the following day)

I was pissed. We ran, like mad people to the bus, through the terminal (I felt like Home Alone) only to get to the gate as the plane is pulling away and to find out that there were three empty seats. So irritated, I absolutely HATE Delta right now.

We finally got on the next flight out on Southwest and was home around 7:00 that evening. It was a nice vacation but I really don't want to fly again for a bit. At least until May!

Hopefully Hawaii is better!

What We Eat - January

In January I was awesome with the whole "cooking at home thing". Not joking, I did great but by the time I remembered to take a picture we were done or it was gone or it didn't look as pretty as I thought it should, so next month I'll try and do better. For now, just know all this stuff was yummy.

Mexican Casserole



This recipe I stole from Brittney. I made it once and my girls love it. They eat more of this than anything else that I make. Like I warned, the picture isn't pretty but the food is awesome. I make it at least once a month and it's now a favorite.



1 lb. ground beef

2 pkgs Mexican Rice, prepared

1 can Black Beans, drained (babies love these, they try and pick them out of my food)

1 can Corn, drained

1-2 cans Pettite Diced Tomatoes (we use 2 because we love tomatoes)

1/2 c. Sour Cream

2 c. Mexican Cheese



I cook the ground beef and rice separate. I season the ground been with pepper, garlic (crushed) and diced onion. Sometimes a little seasoning salt. When the rice is done I add the beans, beef, corn, and tomatoes. I stir in the sour cream and 1 c cheese. Transfer to casserole dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. This feeds my family, including Amy and Spencer, and we always have enough for the girls and I to have lunch the next day.





Santa Fe Chicken



I got this recipe from Kraft Foods. The way they make it is a little bland so I've modified it and it's much better. I'll post the original recipe and then tell you what I added.


2 cups instant white rice, uncooked
1 can (19 oz.) black beans, drained, rinsed
1 yellow pepper, chopped (I used red cuz that's what I had)
1 can (10-1/2 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups water
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
1/2 cup Thick 'N Chunky Salsa (I just use the kind we bottle every year)
1 cup KRAFT Mexican Style Shredded Four Cheese (I upped this to 2 c cheese. Not enough)



I added one can diced Green Chiles, this needs more flavor. I also seasoned with some salt and pepper along with some garlic and onions.


HEAT oven to 400°F.
MIX rice, beans and peppers in 13x9-inch baking dish. Combine soup, water and cilantro; pour evenly over rice mixture. (I just mixed it all together instead of layering, also mixed in 1 c cheese here).
TOP with chicken. Spoon salsa over chicken. (I think I might dice the chicken next time, make it more casserole like)
BAKE 35 min.; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 10 min. or until cheese is melted.



My family liked this with the modifications, the first time I made it things were pretty bland, definitly needed to spice it up a bit.





Rotini Casserole



We make this instead of spaghetti sometime because it's easier for the girls to pick up the noodles. I'm sure it's similar to things that everyone makes but I'll share anyways.



1 box Rotini , cooked

1 lb Ground beef, also cooked

season with pepper, seasoning salt, garlic, and onion

1 can Diced Tomatoes

2 c. Mozzarella Cheese

1/2 c. Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 (26 oz) can Spaghetti Sauce

I add additional Italian Seasonings to mine but I don't measure, just dash



Mix it together and bake for 20 minutes on 350. I cover so as not to get the top crispy, some people like that but it make for crunchy peices that babies can't chew well.



Yield: about 6



Grandma's Pancakes



My Grandma Jensen makes the greatest pancakes in the world. I'm all about breakfast so I love differend pancake and waffle and casserole recipes. This one is the greatest and I always double it so that I have mix for a couple days. My girls will eat this and now wont eat the box mixes. So yummy, I think that's what I'm making for dinner tonight.



1 c Flour

1/2 c Sugar

1 c. Milk

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1 Egg



Mix together and cook on griddle until bubbles form. Flip. Enjoy

... and last but not least the world's greatest Chocolate Chip Cookies...

Town House Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 c. Shortening

1 c. Sugar

2 c. Brown Sugar

4 Eggs

4 1/2 c. Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp. Vanilla

2 tsp. Salt

1 pkg. Mini Milk Chocolate Chips ( I like mini because then you get just the right amount of chocolate in every bite).

Cream eggs, shortening and sugars. Add in remaining ingredients, except chips. Mix well. Add chocolate chips. Spoon onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. No longer. I usually end up cooking mine just over 9 minutes because I don't want them too done.

Yield: about 4 dozen with some cookie dough left over for Handsome.

Well that's it. Next month I'll work on Pictures. For now, enjoy!

You May Have Laughed Had You Been Anywhere Near Me in Logan Last Night if...

1- You heard the doorman at the Hampton Inn ask me if my twins were Fraternal or Maternal?

2- You were standing by the ice cream machine at Sizzler when my gay cousins boyfriend walked up behind me and I said "Hey Ricco, you're Jordan's ... (insert awkward pause, short laugh).." and he says "Yeah!" (also awkward).

3- Noticed that every channel on Direct TV last night had the words "Discrete Shipping" written accross the bottom.

4- Saw that every channel also contained wording such as Brazillian Butts, Pole Dancing, Juicing with Jack, and/or Trojan Buzzer.

5-Heard my kids laughing as they rode the cart down the hallway with Grandpa at 11:00 at night.

6- Saw Josh, both babies and myself attempting to sleep in the same full size bed. Kyle and Andrea were in the next bed and I'm sure will be sleeping better tonight than they ever have. Let's just say that they angel babies weren't angels.

7- Woke up at 9:00 to Dan pounding on the hotel room door and felt a baby with a leaky diaper on my face.

8- Witness me taking a spoon away from Katie, that still had yogurt on it, and accidentally throwing it into my hair.

9- Being the oldest people (minus the parentals) with the loudest children at the student ward that Kyle and Andrea attend where people stare. A lot.

.... and last but certainly not least

10- Leaving the stinkiest diaper of the century on Kyle & Andrea's porch when we left because we forgot about it when we walked out. (Sorry about that guys, we meant to throw it away. Hopefully the cold will freeze the smell in with it! Love you!)

Some Randomness...

To catch you up...





Babies first birthday was Fun! Losts of presents, cake, and mess!





Christmas was Great! More present, less cake, and huge mess!





New Years was okay. We went to Josh's Parents for soup and then home for pork tacos (awesome).





I have thus far refused to get on the scale. I'm sure it's a ginormous amount that I would rather not deal with, nor would I like the hit to my self esteem so I refuse to see how much I gained. (Probably about 4-5 lbs.) So Josh and I have been talking about the fact that I would very much like to quit my job. I'm having a hard time with this because flying for free is amazing, the fact that usually I only end up working about 10 hours a week and it's in my house is really nice. But since Christmas I have been working an extreme amount of overtime plus my normal hours. While I appreciate that my paycheck is more than the .69 cents it was the week before Christmas, it just plain sucks. I hate it. My kids hate it (at least I think they do) and I have been so grumpy. Such a crappy way to end the year.



So the reason I'm spilling all of this info is because although the flight benefits are awesome and you cant beat working in the basement we've made a Unofficial New Years Resolution. If I can make the budget work with just him income and still live life then I can quit.



First place I look for extra money is in our food budget. Let me just say HUGE! Although I love to cook sometimes it's tough and we end up going out, more than we should, like 2-3 times a week. To add to that Josh stinks at packing a lunch, if I don't make it and pack it he doesn't take it and then he goes out to lunch. Let's just say the majority of our extra money goes to food.



Don't think that we don't save though. Josh is all about the budget, has been since we got married. It's just the "fun" money usually ends up in the "food" money.



So I've made a promise to myself that we cut back on eating out to once a week. Week one is going well. So far... no eating out for dinner; although we plan to on Saturday since we're going to Logan for the night.



To help me keep my plans to quit in order I've decided that I just need to cook everynight. I'm still giving myself the one night a week lee-way (I don't know how to spell that). The 10 gift cards we got for Christmas will help in this area (horray for Cafe Rio). The other thing is that my friend Brittney did these posts on her blog last year where she had a monthly email with pictures and recipes of some of the things that she cooked that month. I loved that post every month. So I will be attempting do something similar and post every month. Hopefully I can make it work and by the end of the year not have to have this job anymore.



Wish me luck....