Easter Christmas Cookies

Yea for one week until Christmas break! Our friends, Clark and Joey, came over to celebrate Christmas by making homemade sugar cookies and watching a Christmas classic--Home Alone. Turns out our frosting was pastel colored, so we decided our cookies were Easter Christmas cookies. They were soft and delicious just as we wanted. It must've been Joey's expert measuring skills in conjunction with my narration as if we were on our own Food Network show (still dreaming...) Thank goodness we had Clark and James for the hard part of cutting out the shapes and placing them successfully in one piece on the cookie sheets. It's not as easy as it sounds.

SUGAR COOKIES
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 Tbs. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 1/2 cups flour (plus more for dusting)

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Roll dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a few hours (or overnight). Roll out onto floured surface and cut into shapes. Bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes. Cool on racks, then decorate.

FROSTING
6 Tbs. butter
6 Tbs. shortening (half a 3/4 cup)
2 1/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
splash of water

Mix 1st three ingredients. Add the rest and beat until light and creamy. Add water until desired consistency.

D Wade

Thank you, Deloitte, for funding our trip to see one of my NBA crushes--Dwayne Wade. I say "one" because everyone knows my first choice is Lebron James. Anyway, we went to the Jazz game to see them play the Heat, and I brought a pair of binoculars just in case we were too far away. Turns out we were close to the top, so they came in handy. D. Wade didn't let me down. He made plenty of points with some amazing moves (as expected), and they beat the Jazz in the end. Yea! I wasn't cheering too loudly for the Heat, however, because in case you didn't know, Jazz fans are a little crazy. To make matters worse, the BYU Cougarettes came to perform for halftime, and the fans yelled, "Booo!" as they walked on the court. Come on, people!
Anyway, we had a great time at the game, visiting with friends who are also going to Dallas for Deloitte (minus Clark and Joey), and James was pretty happy about his free pretzel and drink. I love the NBA. Check out this stud.



But here's my real crush...

Much to be Grateful For

We headed out to St. George to meet up with the Palmers for Thanksgiving. I love going down there because it's so easy to relax at the grandparents' house. A lot of the Palmers were able to make it, and we spent a lot of time just talking, playing games, watching movies, and of course, eating a ridiculous amount of food. We had a Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night, and then when more people arrived, we decided to go to Chuck-a-Rama for Thanksgiving lunch. Thank goodness my mother-in-law stood in line at 10 am for 11 am lunch because the line was out to the parking lot! Apparently, our idea wasn't original. We had an entire section to ourselves at the buffet, and we came home for leftovers a couple hours later. Can you ever have too much Thanksgiving food? I'm always amazed that you can be hungry after you're so full. Here are some pictures of the family event.

My sisters-in-law--Christina & Melissa
Can you tell the Palmer boys know what they like?

Cade & James

Cameron, Weston, and Kyle--loving their endless slushies

We also spent a lot of time at Chris and Christina's, and they even blessed their sweet little girl, Cohlee, on Friday. I've acquired a lot more cute nieces and nephews over the last year!

Cade, Tanner, and Kaitlyn

Chris and Christina with Cohlee

Chris, Dave, and James

James's mom insisted on spoiling us at anytime possible, and we're grateful for her love. We did miss James's dad because of work and my side of the family, but we'll see my parents at Christmas. Only 14 week days until Christmas break!

Glinda and Greedy Little Punks

Halloween didn't disappoint this year. I LOVE it! A few weeks ago, I was trying to think of something Julie and I (the sixth grade teachers) could do as a duo. Last year it was Thing 1 and Thing 2.

This year we thought we'd be the good and wicked witches from The Wizard of Oz. Without Mom's costume room, I had no idea how to be Glinda! It came down to the night before. I had a Halloween miracle! Not finding anything anywhere else or even good material for a dress, I stopped by Savers for a quick minute and spotted a used, little girl's Glinda dress. What are the chances?? (That was for Ashna.) All I had to do was tear the back a little to put it on and wear a pink shirt under it.

That night, James and I stopped by our ward Halloween party and admired the different costumes. Unfortunately, James wasn't in on the Wizard of Oz theme, so he just put on some sweet retro clothes. Next year we'll have to do something together when I'm no longer an elementary school teacher.

Ben and Bri came over afterward to carve pumpkins. What's better than Texas and pirates?

Halloween at school the next day was a lot of fun. My room mom prepared a mummy relay for the kids to do, and they loved it. At the parade through the school, it was fun to see all the other Wizard of Oz characters who joined us.

My camera was doing something strange with the color red, but Julie was ALL green no doubt.

Halloween night was the first time James or I had been the Trick or Treat givers. It was quite the experience! We had only one bowl of candy, but it was the good stuff--Reeses, Butterfingers, Starbursts, and 3 Musketeers. The only problem was, we didn't know how to give it out. I tried putting the bowl out in front of them and saying, "Find one you like!" but if you know anything about hungry kids, that didn't work. James thought he'd take over for a few after that. He tried a similar strategy, but it turned out he just didn't have the heart to say, "No more." That's when the "Greedy Little Punks" phrase came in. It was hilarious. Then, James thought of a brilliant plan. "Ok, so first I'll answer the door, look at the kids, and then decide how much candy to give each." That worked alright for the next go arounds, of course, until one family came around for seconds. James decided that when we have our own house, he wants to have some carnival game outside for kids to earn a big candy bar (1 try only). Otherwise, they get 1 small bar. I feel pretty good about it. We'll see how it goes in the future.

Has it REALLY Been a Year?

It feels like James and I just got married a month ago, but somehow an entire year has slipped away from us! Maybe it's because the first few months were spent in hotels while our apartment was flooded with sewage... or maybe it's because we were so busy... or maybe it's because James is always entertaining! Who knows, but I do know we had a great first year.

Here are some pictures to remember the best day ever.
October 12, 2007

It doesn't feel like much has changed since then. We did, however, have a fun time celebrating our 1st anniversary in Texas! My sister, Angie, got married to her perfect match, Dane, on October 10th, so we got to celebrate twice--once in Texas and again by ourselves the next weekend. It was kind of neat to witness a wedding around our anniversary and think back about our own.

The Provo Temple before the Texas trip.

The Hayes Family at the Hayes-Jansson Wedding

The top of our wedding cake!

Okay, so that's not the real cake from a year ago. Funny story. I guess my mom saved the top of our cake (which James and I didn't even know) in her freezer, but because of recent hurricane events, they had to empty our freezer. Matt was going through our freezer throwing everything away when he realized in a split second before throwing our cake away, that this was something important. He was so sweet to bring it up to Dallas with him and save it in Kylene's parents freezer. After all that trouble, he forgot to bring it back to Beaumont with him (what, like there are more important things than our wedding cake?), so my mom had the same bakery make us a similar looking small cake for our anniversary. How nice is that? James and I didn't even remember it in the first place, and we ended up having FRESH, moist cake for our big day!

The next weekend when we got back, we went to the Roof restaurant in Salt Lake because that's where we went with our families the night before our wedding. Plus, James's parents were sweet enough to get us a gift card to use there. I'd say we ate enough... I literally felt full for 2 days. It was worth it though!

Up close and personal at the reflection pool.

Thanks, everyone, for helping make our 1st anniversary a memorable one!

Tagged- For James on our Anniversary

Where did you meet? BYU ward! Who would've thought!?

How long did you date before you were married? Hm...knew him for a year, but from our first date--8 months and serious for only 6. My mom always said, "You'll just know!" I did.

How long have you been married? 1 year and 2 days.

What does he do that surprises you? He cleans--dishes AND the floor!

What is your favorite feature about him? That's hard. I love his lips.

What is your favorite quality about him? He forgives and forgets quickly. I do not...

Does he have a nickname for you? We call each other "Lover."

What is his favorite color? Green.

What is his favorite food? Chicken cordon bleu and my chocolate chip cookies.

What is his favorite sport? To play--baseball. To watch--football.

Who said, "I love you" first? James. I followed quickly after.

When and where was your first kiss? Wait... the one I want to remember or the awkward first one? We were kind of pressured the first time--thanks Heather =), and it was in my apartment, The Avenues. We both weren't really into it, so I'll choose second 1st kiss. That was also in my apartment one night after I realized I was in to him, and this time it was good and wanted by both. =)

What's your favorite thing to do as a couple? Cuddle...eat...pretty much anything.

Do you have any kids? Not yet!

What's a hidden talent that he has? He can play the harmonica among many other things.

How old is he? 24--4 months younger than I. =)

What's his favorite type of music? Punk.

What do you most admire about him? He's competitive and athletic, but he doesn't rub it in peoples' faces. He also doesn't let it destroy his mood. He's a great sport.

What's his favorite pastime? Receiving massages. When that's not available... ESPN or playing sports.

Do you think he's going to read this? Absolutely.

I'll tag anyone else who wants to talk about their hubby.

Life is Beautiful

I love October... better yet, the FALL--beautiful weather, my anniversary month, Fall Break, and Halloween! We went for a little walk in the canyon last weekend, and it was so pretty.


Also on the bright side, things have been looking up with my job recently. I don't wake up SO excited to go and teach all day (not a morning person), but I don't wake up dreading it anymore. Part of the beauty of it is having a classroom aide. I'm so grateful for her help every day. Even if she just does copies, records grades, and goes out for recess duty, that's HUGE for me. She has made my teaching life so much more manageable. I only wish I could have her all day, but 3 hours is soo nice. She's also going to sub for me while I'm gone 2 days for Angie and Dane's wedding next week (another great thing for October)!

I did have a little breakthrough with one student today. So far, all he's done is annoy me because he doesn't try, he doesn't get anything, and his behavior and attitude are not good. It's so hard to have patience with him. Anyway, for 20 min. a day, we work in leveled math groups. He's working on mastering multiplication, and for the past week, he hasn't passed the 4's page in 1 min. If they don't pass it, they're supposed to work on practice pages with only that number. He was doing just that, and I stepped away for awhile. A few minutes later, I looked back and noticed he was glancing nervously at the clock and trying so hard to finish his practice page of 4's. I had never seen him try like that, and it seriously almost brought me to tears. Poor kid. He knows he's way behind (the rest of the class is on 9's), and he was trying his hardest to practice for the next day. Of course, I had to praise him profusely for putting forth such a great effort. He even got a tiny dum dum. =) The point is, for the first time, I could say I liked him and wanted to help him succeed (true confessions of a 6th grade teacher). I really am liking my kids more and more, even if some of them get in fights or write cuss words on the bathroom wall. The latter was the most recent issue, and that girl will be in ISS for a week and lunch detention for a month! I think she'll think twice next time...
Bottom line--I have a lot of great kids, and I'm trying to focus on their strengths so I can be a positive force in their lives.

Monday Nights (and Saturdays.. and Sundays.. )

Some save it for FHE, but we save it for FOOTBALL! I've never watched so much football in my life, but luckily I don't mind it too much (unless it's more than 1 game a day). I especially like it if we watch a game on DVR where we can fast forward during all the commercials and halftime. We're thinking about getting DVR for ourselves for our anniversary. Just think how many episodes of Barefoot Contessa I could save!

So James and the other Texas boys are all sports fanatics, but nothing beats football for them--especially the Dallas Cowboys. What a game the other night! I must say... I was even pretty riled up about Romo's fumble in the end zone and the bad calls, or lack of them. We came out on top in the end though. After a big TD, I figured I'd snap a shot of the jersey boys while they were happy.

Pose #1

Pose #2 (Clark said he didn't know another pose besides "sexy")

People Want to Give Us Free Stuff

So for some reason we've been getting free/discounted stuff recently. We don't think it's because of anything we've done right, but it sure is interesting.

1) I took an extra long lunch break on Friday (Teacher Work Day) to go pick up my transcript at BYU, so James and I decided to go to the bookstore. I wanted to find a shirt that actually fit, as opposed to my last year's nightgown. Surprisingly, there were a lot of smalls available for the new QUEST football shirts. I took one, knowing it would be only $5 (already a good deal), and was pretty happy about it. Well, James also loves a good deal, and he found a white BYU hat, which he's been looking for, for only $11. So, we went to check out and the lady gave us the total and apparently she only wanted us to pay for the already discounted hat. Free shirt for me!

2) As I said, we love good deals, so for lunch on Teacher Work Day, James and I went to Gandolfo's. Delicious. We brought a coupon for a $5 foot long (not to be confused with Subway, but same deal), but the lady decided the coupon meant $5 off a sandwich. Sooo... she totaled it up for $1.36. Not bad for us, but seriously lady, do you think you'd have a coupon for $5 off sandwiches that are only about $6 in the first place? No complaints from us though!

3) That same day we had to go to Lindon to the Comcast office to fix our internet bill because we we've been getting free internet since we've been back. The lady fixed it on the computer, and we were planning on paying for this month, but she didn't care and is letting us start paying next month. We're also getting the same great rate we got last year. Who knows...

4) Last night, we went to the Malt Shoppe with our friends (despite my feelings of ickyness about their cleanliness... my roommate worked there for a week and quit because it disgusted her so much). I DO like their shakes though, so James and I shared a mint oreo regular size shake. Oddly enough, James walked away from the counter with what looked like a XXXL cup of mint oreo shake. I'm pretty sure we paid for a regular. Too bad this wasn't for the better though because the mint extract was a tid bit too strong.

Hey, worse things could happen. I hope I have more to add to the list!

9/17/08- New Addition to Good Deals:

5) James found a coupon for Payless, so I thought I'd go look for another pair of disposable teaching shoes. I wanted some flats obviously because who wears heels all day as an elementary school teacher? Anyway, I looked around for about 2 minutes and then spotted these cute purple-ish flats. They fit perfectly, and low and behold... what did I see? A $5 tag! No other shoes had that tag on them, so I brought them up to the counter and asked if it was a joke. Nope. $5 shoes. Forget the coupon.

FoodNet-Aholic

Admist all the stress, there are a few things that keep me sane.

1) James attempts to make dinner sometimes. Yea!
2) FOOD NETWORK. What would I do without it? Some of my favorites...

Tyler Florence on Tyler's Ultimate. He's been a favorite of mine for some time now. He used to have the show Food 911 where he would go to the house of a chef in distress and help them fix their recipe. I used to think of recipes I could mess up so badly that he just had to come teach me how to do it correctly. So he's put on a few pounds and kind of does the deep, loud breathing when he cooks, but I don't mind. His dishes look and are amazing... and so is this picture.


Paula Deen on Paula's Best Dishes and Paula's Home Cookin', but NOT Paula's Party. The latter is a little bit much. So is her butter and cream cheese, but I love that southern cookin'.

Fat = delicious grub

Ohhhh Tessa. Ina Garten on Barefoot Contessa. I call her Tessa because one time James was trying to learn the names of these chefs out of necessity, and he asked if her name was Tessa because of the title- Con/tessa. He thought the show was Barefoot with Tessa. Thank you Espanol. She's pretty much my favorite. Nat always makes a hilarious impression of her because Tessa never really gets worked up about anything and always speaks so calmly. Nat will say, "Oh, there's a murderer at my door..." in a super relaxed voice, and it's hilarious. I like Tessa for that reason though because she's such a mom and is relaxing to watch.

Last, but not least - Iron Chef America & Ace of Cakes.



I watch pretty much everything else, but these are just my favorites. As far as I'm concerned, the network can get rid of all the newbies on the channel. How did Guy get so popular? He drives me crazy, but somehow he keeps getting new shows. All I want are the classics..... and my own show--Christie's Culinary Creations. =)

The whole food family.

My Job

So I pretty much was debating whether or not to keep teaching this year because of all the craziness. I could go on about all the difficulties of this year, but I'll keep it simple--too many 11 year olds who all need tons of help, too much planning, too much stress. So I had to ask myself, "Is this worth it?" I only had 1 more year to go, but still it seemed forever away. The thought that this was my last year didn't help on the day to day basis for some reason. Also, people in Texas were telling me how much better and easier it would be to teach there, not to mention the pay raise.

Moving on... things have been looking up! Both Julie and I (thank goodness I work with a friend who keeps me sane) went to talk to our amazing principal about getting another teacher. Although it wasn't possible because of our total school numbers, my principal listened and tried to work with us on anything she could do to help the situation. After a few hours, she gave us a list of things she would try to accomplish for us. It's funny... sometimes I feel like she's my therapist because I feel a lot better after walking out of her office.

First off, she found money to hire an aide in each of our classrooms for 2-3 hours. Hallelujia! The aide could even just help me keep everyone on task and focused. He/She could also do things like grades and copies for me...amazing! The other thing is the principal isn't allowing any other new sixth grade students to join our classrooms during the year. We can't put a cap on our student numbers (because of some ridiculous Utah law), but she can have the new kids go to a 5th/6th class with one of the 5th grade teachers. I'm happy to say my number will stay at 34. haha. Sad, but true! Could be worse! Also, we have absolutely no time to plan/breathe during the actual school day, so she extended our lunch for 10 more minutes for some planning time. This will REALLY make a difference. Before, we hardly had time to scarf down our sandwich. Yea! Ok, so Julie still brings her peanut butter, jelly, and loaf of bread to school to make her sandwich every day. =)

Another perk that I already knew about but is just happening now is... we're having Promethean boards installed in our classrooms, and I love technology! With this comes a permanent projector and possibly an ELMO. I know that doesn't mean much to anyone else, but it's the coolest thing ever. It's like an overhead projector except you don't have to have overhead sheets. You can just put a book or paper under the built in camera and it projects on the screen. The funny thing is, I put an ELMO on my teacher wish list for 2 years in a row as a joke, and now I'll have one!

All in all, I have a lot of things to be happy about. I know it won't be a blissful, perfect year, but I feel much more confident that I can do it for one more year and do it well. I'm getting more used to my kids, and I even have 2 girls who give me hugs.... who knew that could happen in 6th grade?!

LABOR DAY!

No work on Labor Day! James and I went to the first BYU game of the season with our friends, and we're pretty happy about our seats this year. We're in the North endzone, so most of the time we have a great view. The only thing was that it was pretty hot with all those bodies. We left at half time to drive to St. George for the long weekend. James's grandparents live there and are always willing to house us plus our friends. Since we hiked the different trails at Zions last trip, we saved this trip entirely for the Narrows. The water was higher and more murky this time because of the recent rain, but it was still a great time! We suffered only a few face plants in the water.

Jackie, Bri, and me

Right after I unintentionally sat in the water

The Beginning

So, school has begun, and Julie and I still have 33 students.... and counting... 2 new students yesterday and 1 more tomorrow. Luckily, a couple went to Franklin. Welcome to Utah schools. It's only the 2nd week of school, and we know from past experience that this isn't the end of the new students. We keep asking the custodian to bring us more desks, but oddly enough, there isn't much more room! It seems that I have the most challenging year yet ahead of me, and I'm already feeling overwhelmed. Uh oh. Let's hope for a miracle (miracle being we get another teacher).

James and I were lucky to have both of our parents in town these past 2 weeks, so that has been great. It's nice to have family time to look forward to after a long day at work. Mom was so great to buy us goodies from Shirley's Bakery and everywhere else she could think of. DELICIOUS! If you live in Utah and you haven't had Shirley's cinnamon, raspberry, orange, or blueberry rolls, then you need to go... tomorrow. We also got to spend quality time watching the Olympics and to eat out every night. Now THAT is something I appreciate.

I most enjoyed Pizzeria Seven Twelve on State St. It's too "girly" for James's taste, but I thought it was delicious! Then, two of the nights Mom was here, she let me stay with her in her hotel while James and the Paxton guys went on a man trip in the mountains. James came back a true mountain man (see picture below). Mom loves to spoil us, and I don't think she had such a bad time herself being away from responsibilities and all that. Thanks Dad! I know how hard it is for him to have her gone. =)

Well, this is after he "shaped" his beard.

Then in perfect timing, James's parents came in town the day after my mom left. We had a picnic in the park with cousins, and took a tour through his aunt's house, which is so old (newly renovated now) that it has leftover pieces of granite from the Salt Lake Temple as part of its exterior. The next day, we had a lovely plan to go to Park City with James's brother's family and his parents; however, I guess I should've known the 1st week of school would make me sick! I was pretty sad about my weekend being taken away from me, so I made myself go with James to Salt Lake to watch them eat tons of meat at Tucanos. You know I'm sick when I don't find food appetizing. James's parents still paid for the mandarin oranges and rolls I ate. So nice. Here we all are after lunch...

Barbara, Kyle, Cameron, Kaitlyn, Dave (James's brother), Melissa

Goodbye Summer

After a 20 hour drive back to Utah, James and I were SO excited to be out of the tuna can (his Honda Civic) and in our little apartment again. We had a wonderful time in Dallas, and we even got a job out of it! Good job, James! I made him pose with the foam finger they gave him at one of the activities. In the envelope is the offer he signed, sealed, and sent, accepting the real deal. So, it's official--we'll be in Dallas one year from now! Woo hoo! The only problem is... I'm ready now. =)



And.. I'll miss my friends and cousin. It was great to be close to Ashna and Chad, Chloe and Tyler, and two of my high school friends, Dominique and Shellie. We had a great time swimming, shopping, and having dinners together. I finally got to meet Dominique's baby, Landon, who is so darling. Luckily, they'll all be there when we move there in a year.




So, we got back on Sunday, and I started my school meetings on Monday. It was crazy getting ready for Back to School Night that Thursday, but I made it with the help of James and my parents. They got my classroom ready in pretty much one day. Thanks! Then, the real stuff--school started this Monday. Let's just say life is different now. My summer was full of free time, reading, swimming, cooking, etc. Not quite anymore. Now all I think about is what I'm going to teach at every minute of the day and how I'm going to manage 33 sixth graders for a year. It felt like the longest week ever, so hopefully things can only go up from here! At least I'm blessed with a job that's close to home with benefits, etc. I owe James a big one for working for our family eventually. I'm so glad we have a plan to look forward to!

August 2, 1984

My man was born that day... a couple months after me. =) I wonder if that will ever bother me that I will turn that year's age before him. But if women really do live longer, I guess that's a good situation to be in. James's baby pictures make me smile (and laugh a little) and I wish I could find one on the computer, but no luck. Imagine a chunky boy with curly blonde hair, a little nose, squinty green eyes, and a big smile. I don't think it's any question what our kids will look like.

Anyway, it's only our second year of birthdays together, and I was already having trouble thinking of what to get him. uh oh... Luckily, he's easy to please, and he ended up being very grateful for his little gifts. I made him show them off in a picture. I also got him a bag of yard games, which will come in handy in Utah (not Texas right now with the weather).

He particularly loves his arm chair because he used to toss and turn everywhere to find a good position to read. He also has already found a few uses for his Mighty Putty (as seen on TV). He fixed his parents door stop, his dad's chainsaw handle, and his mom's mirror. Great stuff!
As you can see, he looks great in his old school Mavericks sweatbands. I knew he'd wear them to the games and possibly when he plays basketball to push back his luscious locks. He wants to grow his hair out again for a month before school... against my will...

James had several birthdays because we celebrated in Dallas with our friends before I left for Beaumont, then in Beaumont with my family, and then one more time in Dallas with his family. Two cakes! Carrot cake in Dallas and chocolate (more popularly known as Shaun cake) in Beaumont. One of his best friends, Todd, was in town, so that made it extra special.




Pretty good action shot. He looks very determined. I didn't even think I was going to see him on his actual birthday because he was going to drive most of that day. Luckily, he was awake enough to drive to Beaumont after work on Friday, so we got to see him that night and all day on his birthday! We played ladder golf, swam with the kids until our thighs were sore from throwing them, ping pong, pool b-ball, and went to Sabrina's reception that night. Of course, my mom had to decorate the kitchen, and the nieces and nephews all made him cute cards. Bitner even made him a homemade bomb! It's the little brown box in front of the cards. He's a loved uncle and hubby.

HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY!