Flight of the Pancakes

So, I left out what Kurt and I got each other for Valentine's Day because Kurt hadn't gotten me anything yet. (My present to him was some cheap flip flops he can take to places like the gym and, of course, a steak dinner. We had a spending limit.) See, he takes public transportation to work and then he gets home so late and it's really hard for him to get out to the store without me. Well, this morning, he got up at 7 and told me he was going to work. I kissed him goodbye and promptly fell back asleep. Suddenly, at 8:15, I was awakened again by him handing some roses to me. He hadn't gone to work after all! After giving me the flowers, he ran into the kitchen and returned with a tray full of pancakes from the best breakfast joint in Denver, Toast.

They do this thing called the flight of pancakes where you get a short stack of 4 different types of pancakes. He got me the bananas foster, strawberry walnut, and two stacks of the lemon blueberry pancakes. They were absolutely delicious! Also, there was a sweet card ("To my lovely love whom I love to love"), a fancy organic chocolate bar (mmm!), and a mini can of coke! It was seriously such a huge, nice, wonderful surprise!

(The roses are in a jar because I can't find our vase and I had to improvise. :D )

Happy Valentine's Day! Or something like that...

So, on actual Valentine's Day Kurt and I looked at apartment complexes with his friend Akshay (they want to buy one together) and then that night we ran errands. I felt awful all day. My sockets were throbbing, my stomach was churning. Good thing we'd postponed Valentine's Day festivities.

Now, I don't think you need to go all out on Val's Day. I don't understand getting elaborate gifts like jewelry. But I do love celebrating it--just another excuse to eat well and be romantic. Kurt and I aren't naturally prone to romance, so it's really fun to have a reason. :D

For Valentine's Day, which we celebrated last night, I made my first attempt at steak. And I have to say, it turned out quite well!

First off, I curled my hair:

(the only pic I took that night, thanks to a dead battery immediately after this shot)

Then I ran to Cheesecake Factory for some to-go slices of heaven. Kurt loves cheesecake, so I thought this would be a fun dessert. I got the lemon raspberry cheesecake and the coconut chocolate cream one. Oh my. Heaven. (Of course, I didn't eat it then.)

Then I ran home and laid down a blanket in the living room with votives in red heart shaped holders. I made strawberry, pear, and spinach salad and garlic mashed potatoes. Then I fried the steaks on the stove top. I slipped into a little black dress (well, not that little, since I can wear it with garments, lol), turned the lights off, lit the candles, took my hair out of the rollers, and turned on some romantic music. Kurt got there right as I put the second steak in the pan and chaos broke out for a minute as the room filled with smoke, but despite that both steaks were delicious, tender, and juicy! We had sparkling blueberry pomegranate lemonade from Sunflower Market (highly recommended) and while we were dressed nicely and drinking from champagne flutes, we ended up eating the mashed potatoes and salad straight from their serving bowls. Because, that's who we are. Dinner was delicious, if I do say so myself! And then Kurt surprised me with some slow dancing. Good job, honey! Way to up the romance.

So that was our fun, cozy Valentine's celebrating in. Yay. :)

CPA!

Kurt passed his fourth and FINAL section of the CPA!

He is one of something like only 10 percent of testers who pass all four sections their first time.

I am so proud of my smart husband!!

Yay!

Sweet Thang

Dear Kurt,

thank you for asking me to marry you two years ago.
Life has never been the same since.
(In the best way, of course.)
I love you more than anything,
even chocolate, sunshine, and puppies.

Love,
your happy wife

Grateful for Grandparents

Grandma and Papa Cooper

Grandma and Grandpa Hatch


What is it about grandparents that is so lovely? I'd like to say that grandparents are God's gifts to children. And if they can but see, hear and feel what these people have to give, they can mature at a fast rate. ~Bill Cosby

A grandfather is someone with silver in his hair and gold in his heart. ~Author Unknown


A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend. ~Author Unknown

February Goals

Well, it's February 9th and I'm just now posting my goals for the month. I blame it on the wisdom teeth removal.
This month I'm going to focus on a schedule. Normally, I don't do well with schedules, so to start off I'll make it kind of a loose out line.
Wake up at 6:15 am
Between waking up and leaving for work at 7:45, do scripture study, pray, get ready, and eat breakfast.
Work 8 to 4.
Mondays after work, do grocery shopping.
Mondays go to the gym 6:30 to 7:30.
Tuesdays, go to gym 4 to 5 (unless I have a lot of prep for Activity Days, which are on the second and third Tuesdays of the month).
Wednesdays, to to gym 5:30 to 6:30.
Thursdays, go to gym 4 to 5.
Fridays, go to gym 4 to 5.
Saturdays go to the gym in the morning sometime (preferably by 9).
Make sure I don't skimp out on my gym sessions! (I've been actually better about getting my cardio done lately than weights. This is pretty crazy for me!)
Cook dinner probably twice a week while Kurt's in busy season.
Write every night from 8 to 9. No exceptions!
Work on my various other projects after 9: Kurt's scarf, read, work on editing, etc.
Do laundry on Thursdays.
Clean bathroom and do floors (vacuum, sweep, etc.) on Saturdays.
Do house hunting online and working on making my blog into a book before 9. No computer after 9 (I think it will help me sleep better).

So, yeah, a very loose schedule. It's hard when you work your schedule around gym classes that are at different times and a calling that is only every other week. But it'll be good. I really need to get on the ball with writing and editing. And Kurt's scarf. Oi.
In other news, I'm planning on applying to be a fitness class instructor at 24 Hour Fitness in March. My asthma has been doing amazingly lately (thanks to my expensive Symbicort) and I feel very positive about my ability to teach! Wish me luck!

Going Under

The knife, that is.
As we speak, I'm either already in, just going in, or being prepped for surgery.
And thanks to amazing Blogger, I can still post!

Anyhow, wish me luck. Next time you see me, I'll be four teeth lighter.
Sweet!
Because losing weight is still losing weight.
(Just kidding.)

I told you my mom makes cute purses.

Because you care

New haircut!
Thoughts? Comments?
(It's a little shorter than I intended, but I still like it. Dang it that your hair is longer when it's wet! It throws me off every time!)

Another recipe?

Sure, why not!
These are the best brownies I've ever had. Don't be daunted by melting the shortening on the stove top--they are super easy. I didn't add the nuts. Instead, I added about 3/4 of a bag of Ghiradelli chocolate chips. Oh my. If you like them really cakey, cook them the full 30 minutes. If you'd like them a bit fudgey, cook 29 minutes. Really fudgey? Try 28 minutes (though I haven't). I actually always prefer cakey brownies over fudgey, but Kurt prefers fudgey, so I cooked them 29 minutes last time... seriously amazing. I'll never go back! I highly suggest adding chocolate chips and cooking at 29 minutes!

Perfect Chocolate Brownies Recipe

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease a 9x13" pan.

3. Melt shortening in a large saucepan over low heat, then stir in cocoa.

4. Remove from heat.

5. Mix in sugar and vanilla then mix in eggs one at a time.

6. Stir in remaining ingredients then stir in nuts.

7. Bake for 30 minutes.

8. Cool completely, before cutting into 2x2" squares.

9. I have read all the great reviews and learned from them, thank you all. Now I line my pan with buttered alumunin foil or parchment paper. This works very well. (Kristina's note: I haven't tried this yet... but it sounds like a good idea.)
   

Link!

Tag alongs

Thanks, Jessica. :D

The Rules: 1. Go to your documents/pictures. 2. Go to your 6th file. 3. Go to your 6th picture. 4. Blog about it. 5. Tag 6 people to do the same. 6. So here we go...


This is Kurt and me at our July 4th breakfast on our porch. We had friends--Nick and Deb, Greg and Tiff--over and enjoyed apple pancakes, bacon, sausage, and fruit while watching the Provo July 4th. It was a really fun morning (the beginning to a really fun day!). In case you didn't know, I LOVE throwing parties. I don't do it nearly as often as I'd like, mostly because we always seem to live in small apartments.
And the cute pumpkin spatula is courtesy of Allison. :)

I tag (I haven't tagged anyone in a while!):
1. Jill
2. Mandi
3. Michelle
4. Melanie
5. Deb
6. Tiff

My New Glasses: a Photo Essay

I got new glasses. And I wanted you to see.
Apparently, this should also clear up any confusion as to what I do to entertain myself during my long solitary hours.
Cheers.

In A Perfect World...

I would shop exclusively from J Crew.

And carry only handbags, luggage, wallets, etc., from Vera Bradley.


I guess it's my inner prep.

Luckily, I have an incredibly talented mom who solves one of those dilemmas for me.
Yeah, she made that.

(And yes, you can buy one!)