A New Job...AGAIN!!

So, yes I have another job. I think this one is going to STICK this time! I have had 5 - yes 5 jobs - in 2009! I am going to have quite the taxes to deal with next year. I just decided I am not going to stay in a job I dislike..it's not worth it. My hubby was super nice and let me kind of try out, quit and leave a couple jobs. For that - he is the best husband ever. Anyway, this new job is FANTASTIC!!

Now, I work for the American Preparatory Academy (a Charter School) as a teacher/instructor. I teach 3rd Grade along with a co-teacher, Mrs. Jones (the kids call me Mrs. Haggin which is still super duper weird to me. Haha!) It is kind of like a "get your foot in the door until you finish going to school for teaching" job. The kids are so fun and crazy at the same time. It makes me really want to be a teacher that much more. I also have a couple of friends that I know there already and that makes it easier too. I love love love it a lot already and I am actually HAPPY when I come home from a day at work..which is a totally new experience for me. A happy wife = a happy husband.

Love all of you! I hope you have a fantastic beginning of the Holiday Season!

Jenna

The First Sign of My Christmas Spirit...

Besides the fact that we got SNOW last night - and a WHOLE TON of it to boot - the first sign that I actually do have a little Christmas Spirit has shown itself. In the form of Gingerbread houses. Last night, my two awesome girl friends and I made Gingerbread houses. Not just any houses...MANSION houses. Let me just say these Gingerbread Men are living the good life in these ones! It was so much fun. Bethany's Mom has these great molds to make these huge houses and they were so much fun to decorate! We spent a good five hours on them..our hands cramping up from squeezing out icing...our faces and clothes were covered with frosting...the candy was all but gone (some eaten and some put on the actual houses)...then we finally got to see the fruits of our labor...glowing lights and all! We had a blast! Thanks girls for a fun night! See the gorgeous (we think so) results below...Yay for the Holidays!

                                           
                  Ashlee's                     Mine                       Beth's

October Madness & Halloween Hijinks

October absolutely FLEW by! Actually, come to think of it..so has this whole year. I can't believe it's November 1st!! Woweeee. The last couple of weeks have been completely insane. We have been running around like mad people. Working, hanging out with friends, hanging out with family, going to parties and baking, cooking and baking some more. I have baked my little hands off (literally, I have burns to prove it) but it has been worth it! I know I said I would take pics and post them..but I seem to have forgotten that. I promise I HAVE been cooking though - ask my hubby - he is one happy man. He will say things like, "Oh so THIS is what a wife is like." Ha Ha. And then I hit him with my spatula. It's all in jest - don't worry :)

We went to a Halloween party last weekend with some of our friends. I personally am not a big Halloween fan. For 2 reasons. One - I hate spending money on a costume that I'll probably never wear again. Two - I eat all of the candy before the trick-or-treaters even come to our door on Oct. 31. (Total bags of candy bought this year to replace the ones we've eaten - 3). Tyler decided to MAKE his costume this year. I was a lot nervous about him using needle and thread to handsew his costume together.. He lovingly, painstakingly made full fledged Bear Arms (he is the Second Amendment by the way which is the "right to bear arms"..get it? Bear Arms?) Ha well he thought it was HIL-arious..so I went along with it. They turned out great, don't you think? Pretty dang good for a guy..or a girl for that matter!

And I...was just a lumberjack. I bought a $17 shirt and a $4 plastic axe and I was golden. We had a lot of fun at the party!

On Halloween, Ty really wanted to go to the Real Playoff Game. So we went - he was SO SO happy I would go to a sports game of any kind - and it was really fun. They scored ONE GOAL which I thought was pretty great considering every time I watch soccer they never seem to do anything but run up and down the court..or is it field? :) Then after we came home and gave candy to our maybe ten little witches and spidermans and threw a little party at our house. It was a very fun, relaxing, low-key Halloween. Just how I liked it!

I do have one recipe that I made that I will share with you. To get you into the Fall spirit. It absolutely will warm your tummies...and it's super EASY! I hope you like it..let me know what you think!

Yummy White Chili (serves 6)

2 cans Chicken or Turkey (I used chicken - I think it's better)
1 can Chicken Broth
2 (4oz.) cans Green Chillies
2 (15oz.) cans Great Northern Beans
1 c. Sour Cream
1/2 c. Vanilla Yogurt


Seasoning:
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. ground Cumin
1 tsp. dried Oregano
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper


Directions: Drain & Rinse beans. Drain & Shred Chicken. Combine all ingredients (except sour cream and yogurt) in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Stir in sour cream and yogurt and heat through.

Eat and Enjoy!!

Happy Holiday Season! If you all have any recipes to share as well..please do!!

It's Fall Y'all!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! I love Fall!! Everything is so colorful and pretty. Ty and I are planning to drive up the canyon and see all of the leaves change. We do it every year and I never get sick of it! I love the pumpkin patches, my Mom's yummy Cider, the crispness in the air, everything!! The only bad part is that I know once Fall comes..Winter is lurking it's ugly head around the corner..and worst of all..SNOW! Boo to snow.

In other news, I quit my job a couple weeks ago. I am enjoying a MUCH needed break from working while I'm going to school. I am going a little looney NOT WORKING - since I have been working since I was 16! I am still loving it. It has given me time to make dinner for my hubby, get things done, start some fun projects and I am much happier! I think I could get used to this..I doubt my hubby enjoys that statement. :)

P.S. I have some fun Fall decorating ideas and recipes that I'm trying out too. If they work out, I will post them and show you the results!

1 YEAR!!

So Aug 22nd was our one year anniversary, and I have to admit it has flown by so fast!



We woke up and hiked up to where I proposed to dig up a Time capsule. Our goal was to go up there once a year and put new pictures and stuff in it. Well, we got up there, and our rock where I had written "Marry Me!" was still there and had the writing on it still, it was pretty cool. Well we dig up the capsule, and the bugs had eaten away the plastic we had it being preserved in, so water got in and ruined everything, so we are going to have to get a metal capsule this time, one that can stand a Utah winter in the mountains.

We then went to Sanctuary in Fashion Place Mall for massages. I can kinda see why Jenna likes these things so much. Man after working so many hours a good massage is a wonderful thing. We were pretty tired and just wanted to stay in the rest of the night, so we just had a movie night.

Good times.

Things Tyler learned from year one:

1. It's ok that Jenna is right sometimes (as much as I hate to admit that)
2. If having a baby is as much fun as having a puppy, then I might be ok with it sooner.
3. Life is good, just make sure those around you know how thankful you are.
4. I hate Carlos Boozer more than ever.

I am looking forward to MANY MORE YEARS with each other!

Tyler




On a side note I thought this was really funny... Bella is pretty adamant about getting a new bone and ripping that thing to shreds. We challenged her to a bone that is about as big as her. She's had it about a week, and I think she is just about to where she can enjoy it. Its been an uphill battle this bone.

GROWN-UP BED

I just HAD to post a pic of my new bed. We broke our other one..no not the way you might think (ha!). We searched for 2 weeks and finally found one that we BOTH could agree on. It's from Black Goose Design and I LOVE IT!! Thanks Ty for letting me get a semi-girlie bed.

A small glimpse...

Wow! It was been WAY longer than I thought it was since my last post. Well! I don't have a ton of time to write a big long blog..but I will give an brief *SYNOP* of what we have been up to!

We have been vacationing in Bear Lake for the last couple of weekends, which has been very needed. Just boating, relaxing and eating OH-SO-TOO-MUCH food! But I say - it's the weekend so who cares, right?


Also, my sister, Courtney got married on June 26 to Taylor Williams! It was a really fun day and they were such a cute couple. It rained most of the reception, but we made it fun and DANCED our little butts off! We all huddled under this Gazebo and partied until they drove away! It was a blast! Congrats you two!


If you hadn't heard already, I had to find a new job - something called a "layoff" I think? :) HA! So I am now working downtown for a lawyer. It is not my dream job - I will just say that - but it pays the bills..and we all know how that goes. Ty is loving his job and I am super jealous..but ONE DAY I will get there. Hence the reason I am going to school! It is hard work!! I just registered for Fall and I am taking some good classes so it should be a great semester!

We are also coming up on our ONE YEAR anniversary on August 22! I can't believe it! I am so happy that Ty and I have each other. We have gotten each other through some rough times - but we always, always pull through and he is the BEST!!!(Alright..enough GUSH, I promise) We are going to celebrate and go to Zions for our anniversary. It should be goooood times for all!

Other than that, we are just truckin' along..enjoying every second we get to spend with each other and our family and friends!

All for now...HAVE A FANTASTIC END TO YOUR SUMMER!!

J

Real Life...At 1:45...

So, I have noticed that all my friends/family who have a blog always talk about all of the FANTASTIC, GREAT and AMAZING things that are going on in their life. Which is all fine and dandy - heck..I am guilty too.

But I think that every once in a while, people need to see the REAL LIFE moments that happen every day. The not-so-exciting stuff. We give off this perception that everything in our lives is just perfect. When, let's be honest..we all know they aren't. So - for today, I thought I would tell you what was happening in my REAL, EVERYDAY LIFE. These are all of the happenings that went on at 1:45 on a Thursday afternoon.

At 1:45 the dirty dishes were still in the washer...


At 1:45 my dog was whining at the door to go outside and go potty while I was trying to get ready...


At 1:45 the clean laundry was still in the dryer begging to be folded and put away...


At 1:45 I realized I am in desperate need of a pedicure...


At 1:45 I looked at my unmade bed and said..too bad..I am not making it today!


At 1:45 I had 3 papers, 2 quizzes and 1 very unnecessary "reflection" to write.


And at 1:45 I realized I need to get my booty in gear and get everything done! So, of course I will still write about all the fun things that go on in our lives, but I think every once and a while we need to remember that life is not all roses and peaches and enjoy the mundane, everyday things that happen in our lives!!

Hope you guys enjoy this! :) I know I did..

YOU DID IT!!!

I just wanted to write a quick post to say CONGRATULATIONS to my hubby for finishing RAGNAR!! You did amazing and it was so awesome to see you cross the finish line! I am so proud of you. You make me want to run it with you next year..almost.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

Well it has been a whirlwind of things happening the last month or so. I hope I can keep this brief! I am going to tell you the top five fun things we have been doing lately:

#5. Courtney's upcoming wedding! Courtney is getting married in 2 weeks! We have been celebrating it like there is no tomorrow..she has had 3 showers already! She had such a blast opening all of her new kitchen gadgets, bedding and..ooh la la..lingerie! We are so excited to see her new life unfold. She will be a great little wife!

#4. Ragnar Training! Tyler's race on the Wasatch Back is THIS FRIDAY! He has been training almost every day trying to get ready for this thing! I will be super proud of him when I see him finish - and super happy it will be OVER! Go Ty!!
#3. School and more school! I am swamped with homework and projects that are due almost every day. I actually don't mind it. The hard part is juggling everything. School, work, cleaning the house, spending time with my hubby & my family - all of that! I will be happy when I am done!
#2. My 25th B-day. (note the period - not exclamation mark) It hasn't actually happened yet - it's tomorrow - but I am DREADING it. Somehow I always thought I would be in my early 20's. I don't know why I am having such a hard time with it - but I am. Breathe, Jenna, breathe!!
#1. Park City Weekend! My fantastic hubby whisked me away to Park City this last weekend. I know it is not California or Hawaii or something..but to me - this was just the perfect getaway! We had a hottub in our room - it was fab-u-lous! He let me do WHATEVER I want. We shopped, ate tons of food, went to the Alpine Slide (which I beat him at and he was SOOOOO mad! YAY!) He is the sweetest guy - I am still just so in love with my hubby after almost 5 years together!!




So that is pretty much it!! I am off to watch the Bachelorette!

Jenna