Thursday Thoughts

So I realized I have not blogged all week, and even some of last week. I guess it is because I feel like nothing too exciting has happened recently, which is kind of okay. But I guess you don't have to only blog when things are happening, so here is a blog about things not happening... if that makes sense.

Sam is officially finished with the semester as of today! YES! I am totally more excited than him. He is just tired. What is also amazing is that we both have the whole week of Christmas off, and even better Sam gets paid for it! But I don't... but that's okay.

Speaking of not getting paid for Christmas break, it is so nice working for a school and getting holidays off. Now I just can't wait until I have a job so I can get paid days off.

So I have always thought I was a pretty good cook but lately I feel like everything I make is a big fail. I blame pinterest for giving me all these ideas that are in reality very terrible. The worst thing I have made? An Asian peanut sauce for ramen noodles that "tastes just like it's from a Japanese restaurant." Basically it was like eating dry peanut butter over soggy noodles. I could not eat more than a couple of bites and it kind of makes me sick thinking about it. Amazingly enough my husband who won't eat whipped cream ate his whole serving. I don't understand him.

Has anyone else heard about the whole wear pants to church on Sunday thing? If not, some women have decided to protest what they believe are the inequalities in the LDS church by wearing pants to church. I have been so so so tempted to post all my very opinionated thoughts about it on the movement's facebook page, but I have stood by my own motto to "not give into the crazy." However, this is my very own blog and so I can post whatever I want. Can I just say how stupid? Who cares if you wear pants? If you feel the need to protest, come up with something more meaningful please. Also, and more importantly, how sad that so many women feel inequality in the LDS church? To me, it seems as though if you are a woman who feels unequal because you don't hold the priesthood or don't serve in certain callings then you are missing the doctrines of the church, or even if you don't feel equal for any other reasons. I can fully say that as an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and as a woman who believes in feminism and the power of being a woman, I have never felt belittled, looked down upon, less than, or unappreciated by the church. So I feel bad if any women ever has and I hope that they can see it is the actions of individuals and not the doctrines of the church. Okay, moving on now.

Is anyone else super excited about Christmas? Well I hope so. And if you are not then you had better listen to Silent Night, drink some egg nog, and decorate a Christmas tree because Christmas is 12 days away! I am so excited I think I will go wrap some presents. Well, that's all for now. Until next time.

Back to Normal

I feel like the last two weeks have been crazy. Last week was one of the worst and longest weeks I have had in a long time. The week before was Thanksgiving so it was good, but also bad because I was super sick. Speaking of sick, my Mom is doing well. She is up and running again and back to work and everything. It was quite the scare though. There is nothing like a scare like that to really remind you how important family is.

Even though I was sick, Thanksgiving was still fun. We ate dinner with Sam's family and it was full of good food and just hanging out which is my kind of Thanksgiving. I made some pies, and I won't lie, they were pretty tasty.

Sam and I are now both very healthy and feeling good. We are back to work and now Sam is just trying to survive finals. Seriously being graduated from college is amazing. Not having homework at night is such a good feeling. But having a spouse in school is almost just as bad as being in school. I think I am just as excited for the semester to be over as he is.

I think I am seriously turning into an old woman and I am taking Sam down with me. Over the break we went to a concert to see one of my favorite singers Rachael Yamagata. The show didn't even start until 9:00 and by the time she came out it was like 10:30 and I was like, ok well I am about ready for bed. Poor Sam was so tired that he ended up really not having that great of a time. We went and saw her last year and it was a blast, but a year later we have aged and are not quite as fun I guess.

Have you noticed the wonderful facial hair on Sam in those pictures? Sam decided he would do No Shave November and you know what? He stuck with it and did not shave his beard all month long. Now I am the kind of girl who likes facial hair, but sadly not my husband's. Not that it looked too bad, but Sam is not a very hairy man, which I like, so he doesn't really grow a very full beard. I am pretty sure I could probably grow a bigger mustache than him. Needless to say, I am glad that he shaved on Dec. 1st.

I can't believe it is December, and yet I can. It is the last month of another year. This has been such an eventful year in my life. I am just going to try to cherish this month instead of getting caught up in all the whoop-la. I can really see myself getting caught up with all the stress of planning and spending money, but after last week I have resolved to just enjoy Christmas for what it really is. To celebrate the birth of Christ and to be close to family and friends. So Happy December to all.

P.S. I bought my very first ornament. It says First Christmas Together. We are official now.

Sometimes life just punches you in the face.

Do you ever have one of those weeks that just feels like everything goes wrong? Well this is one of those weeks. And I am not just talking about losing your keys, flat tire, late for work, no sleep kind of week. Since Monday it has been a struggle but the worse news came last night when I found out my Mom had to go to the ER for severe chest pain. As of today, she is ok but still in the hospital to monitor her and to run tests. So please keep the Youngs family in your prayers because we could all use them. Thanks for the love.

Day of Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving world! I have been looking forward to Thanksgiving for a long time now. Who does not like Thanksgiving? If you don't, well then you should re-evaluate your likes and dislikes. This year will be a little different because I won't be with my own family. We are all going to in-laws and my parents went up to Idaho to my grandparents. Normally I would have gone with them, but now I have my own in-laws... weird huh? So this year we will be with Sam's family, which is totally fine because I love his family. And I have the best mother in law in the world so there is no awkwardness of her judging my pies or anything. It will be fun. I am bringing a pumpkin pie and an apple pie, so hopefully they turn out. Since it is Thanksgiving I think I will create my thankful list for the day. I will probably leave things off, but here is what is currently on my mind.
I am thankful for membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Lately I feel like maybe I don't give enough thanks for that, but I really am most grateful for this in my life. It is a gift that is indescribable. And I am positive that my life would be a lot harder without it.

I am thankful for my wonderful husband who is my little miracle. Sam is so gentle and kind and my best friend. We are figuring out marriage but there is no one I would rather figure it out with than him. I am so blessed to have him with me through this journey of life.

I am grateful for parents who have taught me to use my brain, be a good person, be independent, and to love the world around me. My parents have given me some of the greatest gifts in my life.

I am grateful for a family that loves me and looks out for me. As the youngest I know that I am a little extra looked out for and I really appreciate that from them.

I am grateful for my little nieces and nephews who are so funny and beautiful and remind me that I am an old boring adult now and that sometimes I need to just lighten up and laugh.

I am grateful for so many great friends throughout my life that have led me in the right direction and have listened to me over-analyze my life over and over. I am grateful for all the fun we have had over the years and for being there for me through everything... you know who you are.

I am grateful for a job I actually like. I am grateful that I can get out of bed and  not dread the day ahead of me.

I am grateful for the beautiful world around me and that everyday I see something that amazes me.

I am grateful for my life and for always having what I need no matter how hard things seem to be. There is always food to eat, a bed to sleep in, clothes to wear, an old corsica to drive, and someone there for me. I am thankful for my life.

So Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope that everyone takes a little time to think about how blessed we are to be on this earth.

I am also grateful that these just came out of my oven.... :)

Minestrone Soup

So lately it seems like I have not really loved the new recipes I have been trying. I keep finding delicious looking things in cookbooks and on pinterest but nothing is really what I was hoping it to be. But I found a delicious and super easy recipe for Minestrone soup when I was at my sister Rachel's. I don't remember the recipe exactly but here is how I have been making it:

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. of sausage
1 can of diced or stewed tomatoes
1 can of beef broth
4 cups of water
2-3 carrots
2 celery stalks
1/4 C white or yellow onion
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 TB parsley
1/2 TB basil
1 tsp garlic powder
A few dashes of chili powder
1 TB sugar

In a large pot combine the water, broth and tomatoes and cook on medium heat. Cook the sausage until brown and then drain. Cut up the carrots, celery, and onions. Combine the sausage, carrots, onions, celery, and the seasonings to the pot. Cook on medium heat for 20 min. Then add the following ingredients:

1 can kidney beans
1 can green beans
1 C elbow noodles (whole grain if you want to be healthy)

Cook uncovered on medium heat for 30 min. Then you are done!

I love this soup and even better Sam loves it. It takes a good hour to make but it is super easy. I love it because I usually have all of the ingredients already so I don't have to buy anything special at the store. It makes your whole house smell so good, and it is super hearty. The best of all (besides the sausage) it is really healthy with a lot of vegetables and beans. So next time it is cold and you just want some warm soup, I would recommend this one. Enjoy!

Getting Crafty

So ever since I started using pinterest I have been way into crafts. And when I say way into crafts I mean I have a punch of pins that I hope to do one day. I have actually done very few things. But I have a lot of hopes and dreams for making my little home cute and creative. Now that Christmas is just around the corner I have been wanting to make a new wreath for my door. Yesterday I started to come down with a little cold, so what better thing to do on a Saturday then get my craft on (it's better than cleaning right?). So here are two wreaths I have made for super cheap. If I can do it anyone can.

The first is a Fall wreath that I was inspired to do by my sister in law Debi, who makes super cute things. I used a combination of her wreaths and a few different ideas i saw on pinterest.

Supplies: Burlap (left over from our wedding), a straw wreath form, a few scraps of fall colored fabrics, and some hot glue.

I kept the plastic on the straw wreath because you don't even see it. Basically just buy the cheapest wreath form you can find. Then I cut about 8-10 strips of burlap that were about two feet long. As I wound the burlap around the wreath I glued the burlap to the back of the wreath. I did about two layers because I didn't want any of the straw or plastic to show through. Once I had a good layering of burlap I sewed little yo-yos to look like flowers. If you want to know what those are then go here for an awesome tutorial. You could also do rolled fabric flowers but I like the yo-yos. Once I was done I just glued them onto the wreath and glued a little button on the middle of each yo-yo. Here is the finished product.

 

This wreath probably cost me about $10 and took about two hours to make. It is simply but I like simple.

The next wreath is for Christmas. I found some grapevine wreaths at Target for $2.50 each and have been waiting to make this wreath since the beginning of October.
Supplies: Grapevine wreath, fake berries on wire, and green spray paint.

First I spray painted the wreath green. You could just leave it brown but I wanted to make sure it looked like a Christmas wreath so I wanted the whole red and green look. Then I bought some Christmas berries that were on sale for 50% off at Michael's. I cut the bottom wire stem of each branch off before I wrapped ii on the wreath.

I pushed the end of the berry stem into the wreath. You could maybe use glue, but I didn't think it was necessary as long as you stuck the stem in far enough. Then you just form the berries to the shape of the wreath. I used the cut off stems to help secure the rest of the berry branch. I just wound it around a part of the stem and stuck the ends into the wreath. Then you just repeat the process until the wreath is covered. I ended up using 3 berry branches.

This is the finished product. Again it is just simple but definitely says Christmas.

 

The Christmas wreath cost me about $10.50 and I have left over berries and spray paint. I like these wreaths because they are cute and crafty but they are also a little more modern. Sometimes it is nice to skip the glitter and giant plaid bows of the 90's. Happy Saturday everyone.

Nothing like a little Niece time

Somehow today I ended up with most of my nieces at my tiny apartment. So what better thing to do than decorating Christmas cookies? You know, a week before Thanksgiving. It's always a party at Aunt Kayla's.

Is anyone else extremely excited for Thanksgiving? Because I am. Maybe it's just because I get 3 days off of work. Yes 3 days. I can not wait. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Winter Wonderland

Can you believe how much it has snowed in Utah this weekend? Wow! I am just glad it is the weekend and hopefully tomorrow morning we won't have to drive in it. Last night we got onto the freeway and immediately saw two cars slide off the road and into each other because of black ice. It was scary! Thanks to Sam being smart we avoided it, but we were pretty close to piling up right along with those other cars. So be careful driving! Anyways... Sam and I have had a great weekend and pretty much have just tried to relax and stay warm. Friday night we just rented the move Two Weeks Notice (don't you just love that movie?) and got a little Costa Vida for dinner. The perfect relaxing Friday night.

Saturday we tried to get up early and get the day going. Sam had to help clean the church with the young men in our ward and I went grocery shopping. I have decided that I can't go grocery shopping in the middle of the day on Saturday. It gives me anxiety because there are so many people. Does anyone else feel that way? I like to take my time roaming the isles without screaming kids and people running into me. Later that day we attended the funeral of my sister in law Debi's Grandma. She was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago and passed away earlier this week. It was so sweet to see how loved this women was. She was so sweet and such a kind and considerate woman. You could tell how loved each of her children and grandchildren felt by her. Later that night we babysat for my sister Rebekah. We watched the movie The Lorax with her kids. It was actually fun. You can tell that Sam and I are truly becoming an old married couple because by 10:30 we had fallen asleep on their couch. I think it is impossible for me to stay up late anymore.

Now it is Sunday, and what better way to wake up to some serious snow fall than hot bacon and fresh baked banana bread?

I made this beautiful loaf yesterday. I seriously love the recipe. I will have to post it later. But for now I better get ready for church. I find it funny that even though I have 1:00 pm church, I still manage to be late and I am always tired. I hope you are enjoying the snow, but stay safe and warm:)

And then it was quiet

Today is the first day in a long time that I have not had to listen to large machinery, jackhammers, drilling, large trucks and strange men's voices outside of my apartment. For the last month and a half the outside of our apartment complex has been a construction zone. We thought something was up when a large pile of dirt appeared and they cut down all the trees. What is weird is that our landlord never once told us what the heck was going on. Our neighbor told us we had to move the stuff from our front porch before they tore our all the old concrete. So step by step all the sidewalks and porches were taken out and new concrete was poured. The worst part was when they were jackhammering right outside my door. I seriously thought my walls were going to fall down. They just barely finished the concrete yesterday. Now there is just a huge field of dirt where the grass used to be. But it was actually quiet today! I wonder if they will put grass in before it snows? If they don't it will just be an awesome mud pit all winter long. Why they didn't do this during the summer, I have no idea. Here is what it has looked like out our window for a while.

This is what things looked like for about a month.

And this is how we had to get into our apartment when they poured the concrete. It was secretly kind of fun.

 Now all the concrete is in and the machines are quiet. I wonder what it will look like in the end? I am just glad it's almost over.

Weekend Update/Happy Election Day!

This past weekend was one of extremes. I started the weekend by leaving work early because I got a terrible migraine. Sam and I just spent the night at home and watched a movie to relax.

However, Saturday was seriously one of the best days I have had in a long time. I tend to have some issues with feeling good most of the time. I always seem to have a lot of back pain, neck pain, and I get head aches all the time. But Saturday was different. I seriously woke up at about 7:30 am and could not go back to bed. It was like I just sat up and was like Bam! I am awake! So what did I decide to do? Well I decided to get up and head to the killer power tone class at the rec center. I am still feeling the effects of that class... But at the time I felt great. I came home and whipped up an awesome breakfast for me and my still sleeping husband. After that I went on a little cleaning spree and swept and mopped all my floors, did the dishes, dusted, and cleaned the bathroom. I barely made it on time to my appointment for a long needed haircut. After styling my fresh cut hair (isn't that the best?) Sam and I decided to get the oil changed in our cars. So we dropped them off and walked to costco to eat lunch. When we went back to pay, the guy gave us $10 off on Sam's car. Then as Sam went to Great Harvest to get our free loaf of delicious bread with a coupon we had, I opened the mail box only to find a free $10 card to Kohls. Is there anything better than free stuff? After that I was off to a wonderful massage that Sam gave me as a gift a long time ago. It was Heaven! If I were rich that would seriously be the first thing I would spend money on. We then picked up the most delicious ice cream that I had read about on Torrie's blog. The Sea Salt Caramel Truffle private selection brand at Smith's. Oh man that was so good! And the perfect way to end the night. Can you think of a more perfect day?

Unfortunately Sunday was not the same. I had a terrible headache all day long. Also I have a super hard time with having 1:00 pm church. I can't wait for the new year when we move to 9 am. By the time we got to church I felt terrible and super nauseous. But the best part of the whole weekend? Was that I didn't have to work Monday. Having Monday off is the best. So that is why my weekend update is happening on a Tuesday.

Speaking of Tuesday, have you voted yet? It is the first Tuesday of November and it's an election year! If you haven't already noticed... It is super exciting to me. And honestly I don't really care too much who wins, it is just an exciting process to watch unfold. So even though I am sick of all the Mia Love and Jim Matheson commercials, I am still excited about the election. So if you haven't already voted, then do it! I just did! Here is the proof.

I feel like I should write some big thing about why voting is a good thing, but I think this post is long enough. So I will just say this, don't be lazy, go vote.

Oh and here are some pictures from Halloween, which was a great day as usual.

 
I don't actually have a picture of our sweet costumes on my camera. But we dressed as Mario and Luigi, and it was hilarious to answer the door and talk to trick or treaters in a terrible Italian accent. The kids loved it.

But Halloween is over now, and I am not going to lie, I am way excited for Christmas. When you find eggnog and peppermint ice cream in the grocery store isles, you know what time it is :)

I couldn't resist :)

Magical Weekend in Moab

Are you ready for an overload of pictures of arches and desert landscapes? Well you have come to the right place. This past weekend Sam and I went to Moab for a little getaway. Sam had never been there before, which is just unacceptable to me. So we finally were able to go, and we had a blast. We went up Friday evening and made to to Moab about 8 pm. We were a little held back because I told Sam to take the wrong exit and then two seconds after that we were pulled over by UHP for speeding. Awesome huh. But guess what? We got off with just a warning! It was a Moab miracle. So after an eventful drive down and a short hunt for a camp site, we found a nice spot along the river. We pretty much just set up camp and went right to bed. Man, it was cold. Poor Sam is pretty much too tall for any tent or sleeping bag, so it was hard for him to stay warm. Here is what we look like when we wake up.

Cute huh? Well I thought I would be so nice and let Sam sleep in while I started a nice warm fire for him to wake up to. Well after about 4 or 5 tries my fire was a dud. The wood we had brought was kind of wet and when I woke up it has a small layer of frost over it. I thought it would dry out in the fire, but I was very wrong. So after a very cold and sad morning we finally just headed out to Arches National Park to hike to Delicate Arch. It was fun to bring Sam to a place that I love so much. It was a chilly but very fun hike.

Later that day we met up with my sister Bethany and her husband John who were in Moab for a wedding. They would have camped with us, but because of the wedding they stayed in town in a hotel. But we spent the rest of Saturday with them hiking the Devils Garden area of arches. Later that night we ate burritos the size of our heads at a Mexican restaurant called Miguel's. When the waiter brought out the burritos Sam said, "that's not a burrito, that's a loaf of bread covered in sauce." Ha ha, oh Sam.

Are you sick of the pictures of arches yet? Well there are just a little bit more. The second night was much better. We rearranged ourselves in the tent, bought some dry firewood and some hot chocolate. The night was not so cold and we basically toasted everything over the fire for breakfast, even our bagels. It was delicious. On Sunday morning before we headed home we made yet another trip into Arches and checked out the windows section. Sam started getting mad at me for taking to many pictures of us. Men, they just don't understand.

We had a super fun time and were sad to have to leave. It makes work extra hard on Monday morning when you think of what you could rather be doing. It has been really fun to travel with Sam. When we were dating we always wished we could go camping, but it was hard to get enough people together to go. But now that we are married we can go whenever we want. It's awesome. And Moab is awesome too.

Mid-week Update

Well, it is Wednesday evening and I am sure you are sitting at home wondering, what is going on in the Prusse household? Well now all your heart's greatest desires can come true. Here is a little update on what we have been up to.

I am thinking of adding a little element of cooking on this blog. Each week I want to try out a new recipe I have found and feature it on the blog. So this week is Pumpkin Pancakes that I found on Pinterest from this blog: http://highheelsandgrills.blogspot.com. I was super excited to make these pancakes and they were pretty tasty but I will admit they were not everything I was hoping for. I thought they were a little too rich for breakfast. If I made them again I would add butter to the recipe, and less pumpkin. It was a little too overwhelming of a flavor. But at least I finally tried them.

In keeping with the theme of Fall this weekend Sam and I finally went on a little walk to see the changing leaves. We tried at the beginning of October but it was too early. It is this time of year that I miss Logan and how easy it was to just go up the canyon and see the leaves. We ended up walking around in Farmington because the leaves along the streets are so beautiful.

We had a good time on our walk enjoying the beautiful bright leaves. Fall is definitely here, closely followed by winter, which we are experiencing a little bit of. Here is what I saw this morning after I got out of bed.

Do you think he has enough blankets? As soon as I get out of bed Sam moves right to the middle and takes over my pillows. Isn't he cute? Well on that note, have a great rest of the week!

The Computer is Back!

Hello blogging world. I am back. We have our computer back, so that means I can finally post pictures of our wonderful Lake Powell Trip. People, can I just say that October is the best time to go to Lake Powell? Why do people even go in the summer when it is deadly hot and miserable? Well Sam and I went with Bethany and John as part of this awesome groupon deal. It was a long drive just for the weekend, but it was totally worth it.

This was Sam's first time skiing. He almost got up...

Somehow John was the only one that got a picture of him skiing.

The Lake was so beautiful and the weather was perfect.

Isn't my husband a hottie?

We hiked up to some Anasazi ruins, which was pretty cool.

 How do you rotate pictures on blogger?

On the drive home at Capital Reef.

The trip was so fun we want to make it an annual tradition. Basically I just love Fall and I think that it is the best time to do anything. Something about Fall just makes me come alive. Probably because I am not constantly sweating from the heat... somehow that puts me in a better mood. I can't wait for this weekend because it is going to be Fall filled! I am on Fall break so that means time off from work. Well folks that's it for now. So until next time.