Marinate 6-8 hours, then add jelly beans

January 25th was our 14th Wedding Anniversary. Our weekend had some really good plans and lots of fun should have been had.... but John ended up with a kidney stone so that shot everything to hell.

After 4 days of maoning and groaning and the unpleasantness that comes with kidney stones, John passed his stone Sunday morning. 

By then it was too late for anything to exciting for our weekend I decided that I'd make our anniversary dinner at home.

Our anniversary morning came and we had a full day of stuff to keep us busy. I watch my niece Sophie every day after her morning Kindergarten class so when we picked her up at 11:30 am John and I took her with us to have a nice breakfast out. Then back to our house.

I got a call from John's sister asking if Cooper could play and I didn't see why not so he came over. Cooper and Sophie play pretty good together for a while but then Cooper just wants to play with John. I sent Sophie over to play with the neighbors, and I went to the grocery store. After purchasing all the needed itrems I returned hme to make dinner.

Our beverages for rhe evening was Merlin's Treat. A mix of fruit juices and ginger ale.

For our main course we had: 

Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Fondant Potatoes

Rainbow Roasted Vegetables

and finally... Dessert: 

Chocolate Lava Cake 

with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream and fresh Raspberries

All the food was delicious. I was quite proud of myself... but later, the break out of hives reminded me that I need to look closer at the ingredients of things I eat since I am allergic to Sulfur. Thankfully two allergy pills stopped the hives before it got to bad.

Where were you?

Today is my brother's birthday.

It is also the 25th Anniversary of the Challenger explosion. You know, I can never actually remember Ray's birthday without thinking about it. I was reminded today by this artical on MSN. I have spent some time today reading about the Challenger explosion. Has it really been 25 years? Wow. It doesn't seem that long ago. I remember it so well. I was in 3rd Grade, Mrs. Clark's class. We were getting a special treat to watch the shuttle launch because there was a teacher on board. I remember watching the shuttle go up, explode, and then suddenly Mrs. Clark turned off the TV and left the room, leaving a group of stunned 3rd graders alone to process what just happened.
Reading the articles brings tears to my eyes. I always feel like such a dope when I'm crying at my desk all red faced and puffy eyed. I apparently am more emotionally invested in it than I originally thought I was. Weird. Apparently my 7 year old self was rather traumatized by the events of today in 1986....

“We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.
…
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'” -- President Ronald Reagan - January 28, 1986

NINE YEARS

John and Elizabeth Evans

Bountiful LDS Temple, January 25, 2002

Nine years ago today I married the most amazing man in the world. We have been through a lot together in the last 9 years that I don’t think a lot of people ever have to deal with in their first few years of marriage (or maybe they do and I just don't know it...) Unemployment, depression, disappointments, deaths of close personal friends and family, strange neurological diseases, multiple car accidents… and several other things. Our marriage hasn’t been easy, but really who’s ever is. But the one thing that has gotten me through all of this is having John beside me. I truly did marry my best friend. Sure, life isn’t perfect all the time and there are those days when there is just nothing to say to each other, but even those quiet moments are nice, as long as we’re together.

I just know that I love John more deeply now than I did the day I married him. He is my sunshine in my darkest moments. I love his faults and his strengths. I love his lights and his darks. I love how he sleeps and I love him when he is awake. I love the sound of his voice and his presence in the silence. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t miss him when he’s gone or touch him when he’s near. I must truly be one of the luckiest girls in the world.

Thank you for marrying me John.



He is the half part of a blessed man,

Left to be finished by such a she;

And she a fair divided excellence,

Whose fullness of perfection lies in him.

William Shakespeare - Act II - Hubert, scene ii

TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!

Time 2 go home

Look we have a hatchback.

2:08 pm

It finally stopped snowing. There is probably about 2" of snow out there.

11:00 am

I can barely see the school bus. It's a lot worse then these pictures make it look.

10:52 am

10:50 am

10:48 am

You probably can't tell but it is hailing outside.

Gordon B. Hinckley 1910 - 2008

President Hinckley passed away last nigh January 27, 2008. I was watching Exreame Home Makeover when "Breaking News" came on to announce his death. I was about to be upset about missing my show, but instead I found myself crying for the loss of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, our Prophet.
President Hinkley became the propht in 1995 when Howard W. Hunter passed away. I was a sophomore in High School. I remember hearing the news in my Seminary Class, my teacher at the time was Brother Slaughter. I remember that I was so glad President Hinckley was the new Prophet, he had been running the church for a while anyway with the last few prophets being old and not in the best of health.
I once had the opportunity of see President Hinckley as he passed me in a hallway at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. I was standing at the ticket desk to get tickets to Legacy when a hush came over the building and you knew something was coming even if you couldn't see it. Moments later President Hinckley, his wife and an escort of security came around the corner. Many in that group I was standing with got to shake his hand, but being in the back I did not. However, I could "feel" his presence and I knew he was a prophet of God. I will miss President Hinckley, but the work goes on and the church is still true.

“This work is true. You know that, as do I. It is God's work. You know that also. It is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the way to happiness, the plan for peace and righteousness.”

“God our Eternal Father lives. His Son, our Redeemer, the resurrected Savior of the world, lives. They appeared to the boy Joseph Smith to part the curtains in opening a great work of restoration, ushering in the dispensation of the fullness of times. The Book of Mormon is true. It speaks as a voice from the dust in testimony of the divinity of the Lord. The priesthood with its keys, its authority, and all of its blessings is upon the earth.”

“And we are partakers of these precious gifts. And so, as we might say to an old friend, good-bye. May the blessings of God rest upon this sacred and wonderful hall. And may we, as those who have come here frequently to partake of the Spirit felt here, live worthy of the title Latter-day Saints is my humble prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.”

(“Good-bye to This Wonderful Tabernacle,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 91. )

January 13, 2008

Today is My Birthday!

Happy Birthday to me.

We had my party last night. a ton of people came. That was really nice since I wasn't really sure if anyone was going to show up at all. :)
For those of you who came Thank You for sharing my Birthday with me.
For those of you who didn't come... well... That's okay and I'll still love all of you tomorrow. All I have to say is that if you didn't come you missed out on some yummy Ice Cream Cake.

birthdays...

there is only 1.5 days until mine...

I Made It!

After my snow day yesterday I made it to work this morning.

I must say, I was very disappointed that there was NO NEW SNOW in Salt Lake from yesterday.
Here I was digging out of at least a foot of snow (if not more) and there isn't even a skiff of new snow at my work.
I heard on the news that Ogden got 21 inches of new snow yesterday! I'm sure that we have at least 12-18 inches of new snow at my house. John spent most of the day shoveling. I know he's not supposed to shovel, but there is only one snow shovel and he gets to it first. Apparently I don't do a good enough job. :)
So all in all we spent yesterday shut in at home which gave us time to take down the Christmas tree and play lots of Lego Star Wars. I even go a nap somewhere in the midst of that. Then we had orange chicken for dinner with a pasta side, I fed my Zombie and my Werewolf, played scrabble with my sister, cleaned the litter box, then went to the store and bought some milk and when all that was over with I went to bed. So even though I was stuck at home most of the day I did get some things accomplished.

Orange Chicken Marinade

1/2 cup Orange Juice Concentrate (thawed)
1/4 cup Oil
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
2 TBL Grated Orange Peal
1 clove minced Garlic (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1/2 tsp Salt

Mix everything together in a large zip-lock bag, add chicken and refrigerate.

Marinade chicken for at least 2 hours then cook in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Very yummy. Great for the grill.

Outside @ 10 am... Yep, still snowing. We never made it to work this morning. We didn't want to die on the way.

John shoveling snow (he's not supposed to do that) there was 6-8 inches @ 5 am.

My yard @ 5 am today. You can't tell but it was snowing like crazy.

Horoscope for Jan 08, 2008

Today's Capricorn:

 

Put your wisdom into action, dear Capricorn. There is no good in accumulating all this knowledge and then just letting it sit there collecting dust like an old book on a shelf. Put your thoughts into motion, and watch as magical things begin to manifest right before your eyes. You have incredible opportunities today that can only come when you are expressing yourself in your truest form. Wear something outlandish to remind yourself and others about what an individual you really are.

Time until Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 8:57:00 AM

4		days
110		hours
6621		minutes
397316		seconds