Dinner Club

Last night was another delicious Dinner Club. It was at my house, and I was so glad everyone was able to come! The Mexican food was delicious and sitting and talking with all my friends was even better. It is such a fun thing to get together with all of these ladies - I am lucky to have such great friends! Dinner started at 7:00 and we lost track of time talking and talking, everyone left around 10:30 - so fun! I am bummed I didn't get a picture of everyone. Anyway, here is the recipe for my dish:

Texas-Style Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:
1 pound ground ground beef
1/2 medium-size red onion, chopped
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (2 1/4-ounce) can sliced ripe black olives
1 cup mild enchilada sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
(8-ounce) block sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded and divided

Toppings:
shredded lettuce, diced tomato, finely chopped red onion

Preparation:
Cook first 3 ingredients in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until beef crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain well.
Place beef mixture in a large bowl. Stir in tortilla pieces, next 4 ingredients, and 1 cup cheese; spoon mixture into a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 cup cheese.
Bake at 400° for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly. Serve casserole with desired toppings.

Christmas Sweater

Here is one of the many things I love about Christmas...You gotta love the Christmas sweaters people start wearing!

Tiny Dancers

I saw this on Monday's Today Show - melted my heart! Enjoy! Here is the link:

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand=msnbc&vid=4f5a4656-9aa5-41dd-b118-719c87d79055

What?!

So, the last few years I haven't really gotten into the bachelor, but this season caught my attention. The bachelor seemed like a really nice, genuine guy....a little different than the ones in the past. Anyway, to make a long story short, last night was the "Final Rose Ceremony". When the show started, the announcer goes, "Stay tuned for the most dramatic rose ceremony in bachelor history", and I just rolled my eyes thinking to myself 'yeah right, they say that every time'. So it gets to the point in the show where he has to send one of them home, and the girl I didn't like as much was the first to get out of the car (which means she is going home first, and my favorite girl was the one he was going to pick). Then, the last girl (my favorite) pulls up in the limo and goes and meets him outside where he has a diamond ring and a final rose. I am getting all excited that he chose her, and then came "the most dramatic rose ceremony in bachelor history". He dumped her!! Yes, that's right - he sent both girls home!! I couldn't believe it. As shocked as I was - and as cheesy as this sounds - I admire him for not proposing to her if he wasn't 100% sure that she was the one. Good for him. So you better believe I am going to tune in to the "after the final rose" show tonight. Oh and something fun - two weeks ago they went to Cabo San Lucas - and stayed in the hotel Anton and I stayed in on our honeymoon - so fun to see!

Thankful!

I love this season. I love Thanksgiving - everything about it. I love the Thanksgiving meal, I love to be with family, I just love Thanksgiving. I remember this past conference, President Erying's talk on how every night he would write something down that happened that day and the more he wrote, the more gratitude would fill in his heart. And, I just thought to myself, I don't write down enough of what I am grateful for, or the wonderful blessings that come into my life. This morning on my way to work, there was a severely handicap man on his scooter riding down the side walk on Highland drive. He had crashed his scooter and was stuck - and there was nothing he could do. By the time I drove by, I noticed 3 or 4 cars pulled over helping him. I don't know why it hit me so hard to see these people so willing to help - but it did. I was so touched that so many people stopped to help this man. I am sure these people had places to be, but it was as if they didn't even hesitate to stop and help. I am grateful for people like that! And, I am sure that handicap man, and his family are grateful for people who are willing to help. Anyway, here is a small list of the things I am grateful for....I am sure I will be adding to this list as it gets closer to Thanksgiving!...
Anton
to live in America
my parents
health
eternal families
my Diva dog
opportunity to have traveled - makes me grateful for where I live
sense of humor
opportunity to be a mother
trials
my happiness

Jumping Jacks

Why am I laughing at this? Maybe because that is what I look like in Kick Boxing class. I guess that's why I stopped going. I particularly enjoy the gentleman on the far right.

Nesting

So, I have been nesting really bad lately. In fact I am nesting so bad, I went to Blockbuster and actually asked them if they had Disney's "The Great Mouse Detective" - when they didn't' have it, I was really stumped as to what I was going to watch. So funny! So, not only have I been wanting to watch movies that 4 years old watch, I have been wanting to create and sew. So I went looking to try and find some cute ideas of what I could make and I stumbled upon these cute little booties on Heather Bailey's blog. I think I need to make these.

Here's to Good Health

This post may sound a little cheesy, but oh well. I started coming down with a little cold last week after I got back from California, nothing too bad, just a little cold. It just kept getting worse and worse, and it started to get painful. Yesterday morning, I broke down in tears because I was so sick of not feeling well, and my face and mouth hurt so bad. Well, that is because I have come down with a Sinus Infection. Not fun. My face hurts so bad, and nothing is helping the pain. Anyway, the reason for this post is to not sound like a little cry baby, but to actually mention how grateful I am for my general good health. I talked about this with Anton, because he is always saying how lucky we are to have good health...and it is so true. As I was laying in bed miserable yesterday, I couldn't help but think of those poor people including children who have cancer, or chronic pain and how hard that must be to live with that every single day. I can't imagine...it must be so hard for them and their families. My heart goes out to them. Anyway, I am really grateful and feel blessed that Anton and I have had such good health (generally speaking)! You can't escape those darn colds though...poor Anton has the sniffles now.

Brothers

I am sure you have heard me talk about my brothers before. These photos give a good description of why I love to be around them so much - they are so funny, and have the best sense of humor! They constantly make me laugh...I had so much fun with them on our trip. Here is a glimps of Jake & Nate. (notice how they have to make a face in every picture)