Quick Update

Lets see... Last week seemed so hectic! On Wednesday I had to take my paraprofessional test, so I can be certified to be an aide. I was so worried I was not going to pass, but I got 60 points higher then what I needed in order to pass. Then on Friday I HAD (and by had I mean, someone asked for my help and I said yes) to give a cooking demonstration. I was dreading it to say the least because I have a hard to believing in myself when it comes to cooking so I was for sure I would be an epic failure. But as usual I proved myself wrong. I was not horrible but I am glad it is over. Sophie helped me out a lot and that was really nice. I know that was not a lot to do in a week but MAN ALIVE when it was over I felt like I had a HUGE weight lifted off of me.

I now work all day at the school. I am a one on one aide for an ADORABLE boy in pre-school. Unfortunately I get worn out a lot more. I get home from school at 3:30 sometimes 4:00 because I get to talking with people. Then at 4:30 I tutor the janitor. He is taking online police training stuff and he needs help with all the reading and test taking. Then I get home at like 7:30 or 8:00 and I am beat! It is kind of ridiculous I am a 21 year old who goes to bed at 9:30 or 10:00 every night. No joke, the other night Tacy and I went to bed at like 9:00 and at 10:00 the phone rang, and we were both so out of it, and it was our dad calling to ask a question. He was wide awake. Crazy.

I just can't wait for my days to not seem so hectic, I get to school at 8, then I am with the little boy the whole rest of the day. I really do enjoy my job, he is so cute and is catching on quickly to our schedule at school. I can't wait for when the winter is over, I don't think I have ever said it, and I don't really want it to over but I will be happy when it is a little bit warmer then he can go outside and play. He LOVES the playground. Anyway, I love it, but i'm worn out. That is the gist of it.

Other then that nothing at all is happening, Tacy and I are finishing up Christmas decorating, and I am finishing up all my Christmas shopping, I have school drawings I have to buy for and I am not use to having more gifts to keep track of lol. Sophie leaves a few day after Christmas and I am kind of dreading it, but I am SOOO happy she is going. I just don't have a life and she was the only thing of a life I had lol, that sounds pathetic but really I just hang out with family, so if I want to get away from family I can't but I shall live.

Okay I am done now, I am not sure it makes any sense or if anything is spelled correctly. But bare with me, my head hurts and I feel funny. Hopefully I am not getting sick, I would not be surprised though, I had like 5 kids cough in my face while I was zipping there coats. Okay I'm out.

School

I have been subbing at the Grade School since I got back from Utah last year. Just recently I applied for a half time aid position at the school. The interview was yesterday after school. I was more nervous then I thought and so my answers sounded dumb, and I was pretty sure I wouldn't of gotten the job.

ALSO Sophie got her mission call yesterday!!!!! That was sooooo exciting. You all probably know already but she is going to ALASKA!! CRAZY! She leaves for December 29th. I'm so excited for her!

Anyway.... I finished the interview and I was told that I would get a call today with either a yes or a no. SO!! Today at 8:30 my phone rang and I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!!!! I was really happy! I start on Monday, I am really happy yet nervous at the same time. I shouldn't be nervous because I work there almost every other day subbing, oh well.

Another Confession

Every time I see an abandoned building I think it was abandoned for a reason, like something tragic happened in it. It really creeps me out...

Who knows...

Sometimes I fell like opossums are misunderstood creatures.

Chicago!

Sophie and I got back from Chicago Wednesday night. We had a freakin blast!

We got on the train early Monday morning and arrived in Chicago around 10:30, we checked into our hotel and then started our adventure. The field museum and the Shedd Aquarium was not far from our hotel so we walked over there. The field museum was fun, we spent most of our day there because it was so big! The Aquarium was alright, we didn't pay to get into the extra stuff like the penguins and the dolphins but the fish were cool to see. After that we walked back to the hotel and kind of relaxed for a little bit. We went to Ginos for dinner that night. It was good, however it did have a lot of sauce on it and I am not a huge fan of sauce, but other than that it was really good. We then came back to the hotel and went swimming and then went to bed.

The next day we were going to walk around by the hotel to see what there was around us but then we just kept walking and kept walking until we happened up the Magnificent Mile. I was a little disappointed because it was mainly clothing stores, and I don't fit into any of those clothes. But I did get some earrings, a necklace and some hair clips from some stores. We also went to the Hershey store and got some chocolate! We found this restaurant called The Feast and we ate there for lunch, we started with a bbq chicken pizza appetizer and it was DELICIOUS! I love bbq chicken pizza! After that we went to Water Tower Place Mall and again that was mainly clothing stores, but Sophie got some cute clothes so that is always good. After that we walked back to the hotel relaxed for a little bit then went to Honky Tonk BBQ, we saw it on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and it looked really good. They have this vinegar bbq sauce stuff that is AMAZING! We got a pulled pork sandwich and cut it in half then we also got a brisket sandwich and cut it in half. We both liked the pork better. But now we know we don't really like brisket lol. We finished up there and went back to the hotel, it was a little scary leaving the restaurant because it was getting a little dark and it was not in the best part of town so we had to hurry and call a cab so it didn't get to dark lol.

The last and final day I thought was the best probably. We took a taxi to Navy Pier and shopped around. It was cloudy so it was not terribly hot so it was really nice to be outside. We decided to go get my mom something from the ghirardelli store at Water Tower Place so we left there and got some chocolate for my mom then we walked down to a restaurant called Chipotle, it was SO good! We got a cab back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and then headed to the train station to head home.

We took some pictures, they are in no special order but I said there would be pictures so there are pictures.

Adventure!

There has been nothing going on lately to blog about. Summer is coming to an end. I am not working as much at the moment so it is kind of really nice but hopefully I will sub at the grade school and Jr. High some more this year because I liked it a lot.

In other news...

Sophie and I are going on an ADVENTURE! We are going to Chicago at the end of the month for three whole days! We are SO EXCITED! We are taking the train and it is about a 3 1/2 hour ride. Sophie wants to bring Harry Potter themed snacks, like the ones they had on the trolley in the movie. We will bring licorice for licorice wands, jelly bellies for Berty Bots Every Flavor Beans, chocolate dipped gummy frogs for the chocolate frogs and maybe pumpkin muffins for pumpkin pasties. We got a pretty good deal for a hotel pretty close to everything we want to see, and the hotel has a roof top pool! Cool huh!?

I will post pictures after the trip!

Check It Out!!

This summer I started to work at the Nauvoo Vacation Condos! I enjoy it a lot! There condos are VERY nice!

If you are looking for a place to stay when you come to visit check us out at www.nauvoovillas.com.

I know most (all) of my readers live here but you can pass the word along to friends and family! We also have a blog you can follow, nauvoovillas.blogspot.com. And if you are on facebook we are there too! WE ARE EVERYWHERE!

I'm a stalker...but in a goodway!

I'm not sure there is a good way to stalk someone but I'm not a creepy stalker. The person knows I'm stalking them.

My friend Sophie is at BYU Idaho for school and on campus they have web cams that you can look at from the BYU Idaho website. One of the web cams is at the testing center so you students can see how busy it is. Well I use it to stalk Sophie, she texts me and tells me she is heading over and I get online and wait until I see her. Then I take her picture and send it to her. She knows I do it and sometimes she smiles at the camera but it usually loads to slow for me to see it...maybe someday..lol

While Tacy was out there she would call me and I would look at the bookstore web cam and she would wave and I would see her. It is just kind of fun to know that I can see them while they are so far away lol.

Friends!

Last night we had a surprise party for Katy and Darons engagement. Sage, Zach, Amber, and Kim all came and stayed after the party to hang out.

The other day Sage said how she missed her friends and last night I realized how much I missed my friends and hanging out with them It was a lot of fun just chilling and talking and stuff. Last summer was THE best ever because all I did was hang out with friends. I didn't realized I missed it because its not like I haven't been doing stuff but hanging out with your family is not the same as hanging out with my friends.

Thanks? I think...

So I am at work right now and my dad came up for a second. And he asked me if I got the laundry from the laundry mat, I proceeded to say yes, then complain. not really complain but just rant about how I did everything like get the laundry, fold the laundry, bag almond bark. The he said " Do you have a life?" I said "No..." then he said, "there's something you can't say yes to!". I think the only person to remind me that that I have no life is my dad. Oh well, its the truth.

House

As everyone already knows, Katy is moving back here with her friend Stacie. I AM SO EXCITED! Me and Tacy fly to Arizona on Thursday then on Monday we all will leave to come back here. We all decided to rent a house together. Tacy and I are all ready moved in, but Katy and Stacie need to get here with there stuff, then it will be more complete. Luckily Katy has furniture so we didn't really have to worry about buying anything, except for a kitchen table. Tacy and I found a kitchen table at a local consignment shop, it was really really nice. Six chairs and a table, very nice and sturdy.. for......$130!!! The people were asking like 179 for it but they gave us a discount because we worked at the fudge factory! It was a really nice deal. When Tacy and I looked at other places just a table was 150 or more. So we were pretty excited. Anyway.... The setup of the house if very weird. When you first walk in there is the living room, then to the left, is a empty room ( I'm guessing it was a office of some sort) Then you leave that room and go into the laundry room, in the laundry room there is a closet, a door to the garage, a tiny tiny bathroom (just toilet and sink), a door to my tiny room (its small but it works) and you leave the laundry room and there is the kitchen. It is nice and big, a lot of counter space and cupboard space. Then to get to one of the bedrooms there is a door in the kitchen. In that bedroom there is a bathroom, and a long closet, and if you walk through that closet you can get to the 3rd and final bedroom. There is another bathroom in that bedroom as well. Then when you leave that last room you are back in the living room. The house is nice, and there are a lot of windows so we get a lot of sunlight in the house which I LOVE! Here are the pictures.... They are not in any order and not the best pictures in the world but oh well. There are two rooms that i did not get a picture of because I could not get a good shot of the room. And I view from the front door for Soph.

Excited!

So I have always wanted these measuring spoons that measured a pinch, smidgen, and a dash. Well Katy bought them for me a while ago and I have not used them...until....today! I was making some barley and on the recipe it said a dash of salt. I was so excited I finally got to use them! Needless to say I get excited over weird things but anyway....I was excited!

Update!

My computer is being dumb tonight so I can not put these pictures in order. I have not blogged lately because there is nothing to blog about. So this just a picture post.

The first 3 pictures are of mine and Tacys garden we planted this year. We are really excited about it because it is our first garden and it looks all cute and such...

We decided to make a rain barrel so we can use the rain water to water our new garden! We finished it about a week ago and it's already full! We are really excited about it! It was way cheap to make, it ended up costing us about 25 dollars all together!

A few weeks ago we went to sams and as we pulled away we discovered two geese at the end of the parking lot. They were just sitting there napping like it was not weird for them to be sitting in the middle of a parking lot!

hmm...

I have been pretty busy lately, well my days are busier then my nights. I have been working a lot at the Grade School/Junior High the past few weeks, and I also took my mom to the airport, and had a few eye appointments.

Tacy has been working nights at the C-Store (the mini mart in town) so we have been on two different schedules. I get up early to go to work, and she has about an hour or so more sleep then me. And she works nights so because she works late she wants to hang out a little bit before we go to bed, but because I get up early I like to go to bed early (plus I am a little bit of an old sole so going to be early is nice). When she does have a night off from working late we do hang out an have a lot of fun. Usually once a week we hang out with our friend Nikki. We have dinner and just chill. Yesterday we were going to play games outside and grill out but it rained, we still got to grill on her porch so over all it was a fun night.

In other news.... Kim has come back. Last year her sister was with her but her sister got married so she came with her roommate Kathy! Who is just as awesome as Kim. They got into town on Saturday we went out to La Casa Salsa and got some groceries. Sunday we watched a movie and just hung out. They are both way fun and I'm way glad they are here.

That is about it for now! I have some laundry and cleaning yet to do.

Perfect!

So this lady just come into the store and I know her relative so were just chatting it up and at the end of the conversation she asked my age and then said that I was just perfect. I thought that was strange but then she said.. well this is why you are perfect..

Your not a teen anymore, and your not quite an adult because your not 21. You are 20 and that is nothing and nothing is perfect! So that is why you are perfect...

Then she laughed and walked out of the store.

I thought it was kind of funny because I had never heard that before so that is why I decided to share it with everyone!

The Latest...

Well everything is the same as it always is, nothing exciting going on. A few weeks ago I broke my foot and I had to wear this annoying walking boot. It was nice that I didn't have crutches but the boot was a little annoying. I didn't get a picture of me wearing it but here is one I found online...Luckily my pant leg fit over it because it is not pretty...


Other than that I have not done anything. I did however cook some good ( well at least I thought so) weight watchers friendly food....

"Fried" Onion Rings

3 sprays- olive oil cooking spray
1/4 cup- all purpose flour
1/4 tsp - garlic powder
1/8 tsp- dry mustard
1/4 tsp- salt
2 large onions cut in 1/4 in rings
1/2 cup - buttermilk
1 cup- bread crumbs

1- Pre heat oven to 400, coat large cooking sheet with cooking spray.
2- In a large bowl combine four, garlic powder, dry mustard, and salt. Add onions, Toss to coat.
3- Pour buttermilk into another large bowl, Add onions, toss to coat. ( using your hands work best)
4- Put breadcrumbs in a large bowl ( i added some salt to the breadcrumbs for some more flavor) Add onions, toss to coat.
5- Transfer onions to baking sheet, spray with cooking spray.
6- Cook until golden brown about 35 min. Serve hot, yields 1/2 onion per serving. 4 points a serving.

Slaw of Attraction

One 16-oz. package cole slaw mix, dry (or 6 cups shredded cabbage mixed with 1 cup shredded carrots)
1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
2 1/2 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
1 tsp. Dijonnaise
2 no-calorie sweetener packets (like Splenda)
1/4 tsp. seasoned salt (like Lawry's)
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
To make dressing, combine mayo, sour cream, rice vinegar, Dijonnaise, sweetener, and seasoned salt. Mix well. Place cole slaw mix in a large bowl. Add dressing and stir until all of the slaw is thoroughly coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (For best flavor, make slaw the night before you plan to serve it.) Then just give it a good stir, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy! MAKES 6 SERVINGS
( serving size 2/3 cup, 1 point per serving)

I also made really yummy open face philly cheese sandwiches and a reuben casserole but I don't have the recipe out right now so I will post those when I get home.

Spring!

I love that spring has finally come! Don't get me wrong I am a HUGE fan of snow, but it is nice to see the ground and green grass and no more snow! On the down side we did have a ton of snow before so it is all melted and everything is just muddy, and on top of that it rained a little last night so its just more wet. I hope soon it will dry up and not be so muddy!

On another note!

Yesterday I took the dog for a walk down the street to get our neighbors mail and we started heading back and across the little creek ditch area were my other neighbors and there kids and they said hello and we started talking, well I decided to walk closer so I started to walk down the hill, the muddy muddy hill. I slipped and fell, I was COVERED! in mud and I messed up my ankle! Naturally! So I felt like an idiot because my neighbor was across the creek and asking me if I needed help or anything, but I was so embarrassed so I just told her I was fine, then I wobbled my way home. HAHA! I went today to get x-rays of it, I have not heard back from the clinic but I really think it is just sprained. So now I am stuck home watching re-runs of Little House on the Prairie.

That is all the latest news, life is pretty uneventful I'm still subbing at the Grade School so that is about it.

My new obsession!

Supernatural! I love love love it! Not only are the men very much attractive but they are just so funny its just great. I just like it a lot, sometimes the dead people on the show aren't to pleasant looking but I still like it.

New! Part 2!

That is a bad picture... hopefully you can tell that I cut and colored my hair! It is shorter and stacked up in the back and a little bit longer in the front! I LOVE IT! I tried someone new this time, a lady in Dallas City. She was really nice and did a freaking good job cutting it. Then I wanted to color it and Tacy said she had no idea how to do it, but Nathan said he did. He did a pretty darn good job if I do say so myself.

New!

I bought a new laptop! I got one of the minis. I just got it today so I'm not 100% use to it but so far so good! Through my dads work we can get discounts on laptops on dell so last week my mom got an e-mail telling her of a deal with the dell minis. I was looking around at different ones and when my mom told me the deal it was a really good one so I decided to go for it My old computers power cord was broken and it was so so so slow, so I realized it was time for a change. I'm excited way excited! I don't do a ton on my computer so I didn't really need a big one. Well that's all I really have to say for now. Sorry for the short post.

SLUSH!

Happy WAY belated birthday to me! Tacy never got me a birthday present last year, so she felt the need to get me a present now. SO she got me a Slush Mug! It is a mug that you freeze the inside cup and then when it is all frozen you pour your cold drink in and then in a matter of minutes its a slushy! I just got it today but I have already used it and it works and I love it!

On a different note....

Today was my first day subbing as an aid at the Grade School. It was way fun! I subbed in the pre-k class and they are just adorable. A few kids I knew from church, but most I didn't know but they loved me anyway. I also ran into a few more kids from church in different grades and they all made sure to announce that they knew who I was. One girl that I taught it sunbeams came up and gave me a huge hug and said JESSIE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!? It was a good day. I go back tomorrow to do the same thing. Then Thursday and Friday I sub in Kindergarden. I'm excited!

I'M ALIVE!

I have not had any motivation to write a blog in the past few months. I was just lazy, and I felt like there was nothing really worth blogging about. So I guess I can fill you in on all that has happened since November.

Christmas was great! Katy was home for the holidays and it was so much fun having her here for a while. We all had a lot of fun just being lazy and doing a whole lot of nothing. I got a Wii so we played wii golf most of the time.

It all got boring after Katy left. The Fudge Factory is closed until the beginning of February so Me, my mom and Tacy really had nothing to do for the month of January. We decided to take a cake decorating class at hobby lobby. That was fun, Tacy took pictures but I will have to post pictures later. We just learned the basics, like frosting the cake and then doing borders and basic flowers. We had to learn the rose and it was HARD! the teacher said its the hardest thing to learn. There are three different courses, and each course is four classes long. We finished the first one and me and Tacy are going to take Course two. In that class we will learn more flowers and the basic weave, So it should be fun.

That's the only major news, there have been a few little changes. In church I used to teach the three year olds, now I teach the six year olds. I liked the three year olds, but it was getting way hard tyring to wrestle six three year olds by myself. The six year old are great, they know more about what I'm teaching them, and they know how to be reverent. Its great!

On occasion I sub for a cook or the secretary out at the Jr High. But a few days ago and the Grade School called me and asked if I would be interested in subbing as an aid for them. So next week I will be working at the Grade School and a few days in the next few months.

That is about it, sorry about not blogging!