Oops I did it again

A few of us in the office decided to dress up. Cherrie is BamBam and I am the ghetto-fab, white trash, prego Brittany Spears! Well, more of an update later, off to go get Addi and take her for her first trick or treating. Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Welcome Joshua Ryan

Love those little cheeks!
Joshua with big sisters Chloe and Maya

So peaceful

My sister Kelly had her baby on Tuesday night, a little boy named Joshua Ryan, he weighs 9 lbs 7 ounces and is 21 inc long. He is so beautiful and I can't wait to meet him! I can't believe I am going to have a new little one soon, only about 7 weeks! That is just crazy! It seems so far and so close at the same time. There was a newborn baby in the office today and I had a mild panic attack, not sure I'm ready for all this but its a little late for that now-lol. Even though I am nervous, I am far, far more excited. I can't wait for him to be here and meet him!

The Good Ones

Life is slowing down. I am taking a break, breathing deep and getting back to what makes me happy which is making time for my family and friends. I haven't made time for them lately which is so unlike me and I can feel the empty place where I know they need to be. I was recently talking to a girl I work with who told me how she has no support system. And I felt so bad for her, I didn't know what that was like. I didn't know what to say because all I could think of was the many names and faces that came flowing into my mind that are my support system and are so amazing. I get to call myself so lucky because I am surrounded by the good ones! So, so many good, genuinely good people who I am lucky enough to call my friends. I have felt really down yesterday and today and I originally was going to do a 'poor me' post, just cause I needed to get it off my chest but I just don't feel like that anymore because just reminding myself of all of you guys that are out there for me makes me feel happy. So here's to you the good ones...thanks for being my happy place!

A Few More Random Photos

I love photos. They are my happy place. So last night when I was super upset I worked on my photos, printing and framing them and getting them up around the house. Love it! Here's a few more I thought I would share.
XOXO ~ Sara

My Fab Birthday

So I never posted too much about my birthday, but it was fab! On Thursday my girlfriends had a party for me and it was fun to just hang out and talk and chill! Thank you girls! For the weekend I went up to McCall with my mom, sister, Uncle Steve and Grandma and we had a blast! We got up there really late on Friday and went to bed, then Saturday my mom and sister went to the store and I got the place to myself to sleep in! We hung out and napped all day. Before dinner Becca and I went into town to Bistro 45 and sat and talked and had fun sister time! Then we headed back for dinner, homemade roasted chicken with potatoes and carrots and corn on the cob and Better than s.e.x cake for dessert- yum! Sunday we went on an outing, we drove up into Riggins and hiked down by the river and played on the beach, Addison loved it. She threw rocks and was so mad at me that I wouldn't let her get all the way in, just her toes. We then headed back to New Meadows and went to Zims' natural hot springs. The big pool there is like a luke warm bathtub so I was ok to sit on the edge and put my legs in. Addi once again loved it! We then headed back to the cabin and had another great dinner. I love when my mom and Grandma cook, so good! Monday we just hung out went on a drive to North Beach and hiked around and took pics. It was such a fabulous weekend and I'm so grateful for my family. They totally took care of me and did all the hard, dirty work so I could just sit back and have fun. It was a blast! Thank you for a wonderful birthday everyone!

Series 7

I failed. I'm too mad/disappointed/sad to say anything else on the subject right now.

Seattle Update

So I'm still here in rainy Seattle studying till my brain hurts. But I'm so smart now-lol, kind of. We just got back to the hotel from a gourmet dinner at Applebees. Kevin text me the most tender text: I think Addi misses you... she keeps leading me around the house looking for something she can't find. Oh, it just makes my heart break and soar at the same time. I knew Kevin and Addi would be ok while I was gone but I wasn't really sure if she would miss me. Kev and I talked on the phone for a while and he was so funny. He said I would be so proud of him cause he's been keeping the house clean, dishes and laundry and I said see I knew you guys would be fine without me and he said 'no we are not fine without you but we are getting by'. Its good to know that your family needs and misses you while you are gone. I sure do miss them so much!!! It's Wednesday though, so I'm more than halfway through with my week and only two more nights and then I will be home-hooray! And one week from today after I take and pass my test I will have my life back. Double-hooray!! Sending lots of love back home and happy thoughts!
XOXO
Sara

where to start

Ok, so where to start....my mind is racing!!! so I'm in Seattle now, just finished my first day of class and and so tired and worried. my flight left Boise on Sunday afternoon, my flight was uneventful, luckily, and i didn't get sick. our plane was pretty little but I've been on smaller, so i just tried not to think about it and close my eyes since i was so tired because Addi thought it was a good idea to wake up at 4:45 that day and neither one of us ever when back to bed. all though the positive of that was the precious cuddle time i got with her and i could not believe all that i had accomplished by 10 am! so we got to Seattle and i put sheila as the driver of our rental car, if you have ever driven with me you know i can get lost trying to get myself home! anyway...it wasn't fully paid for and we are both under 25 so we had to pay$150 for the week and taxes and she had to put it on her personal card which i felt so bad about... she is getting reimbursed but still... then we were leaving the airport after we got our rental and are waiting at the station to get checked out and we see someone steal a rental car!!! the man at the booth said welcome to Seattle! oh great... we then headed to downtown Seattle to Pike's Place Market which I will have to describe in detail later but it was awesome, not what I expected it to be but still awesome, and we went to the original Starbucks which was neat and I bought myself the most beautiful flowers for $5. Some days a girl just has to buy herself flowers.... we headed into Renton where our hotel is and got all checked in and hung out. later that night we decided to go to the store and get some stuff for our room instead of having to eat out so we went to walmart. ok, so i did not know that not all walmarts are super walmarts, some don't have food, ok then what is the point of walmart i ask you if there is no food, there is none. not to mention we were totally the minority and i felt so out of place...not what i expected in freaking Washington. we went down the block to Fred Meyers, which was much better and got food, although i swear my money is going as far here as it does at home, oh well i guess not much i can do about that. i studied for a while and feel kind of smart but still kind of like a dumb a... oh well I'm trying not to worry about that too much. we finally decided to go to bed, although i say bed and not sleep because i didn't get any. i am so used to sharing my bed with Kev, i missed him and his snuggles and all the wonderful things that go with sharing your bed with your loved one. and of course i miss Addi! I'm trying not to think about it too much so I can stay focused on my studies. It is really pretty here, but whenever I travel it gives me this whole new appreciation for home. I love my home and being so close to my fam. well, i have lots of homework so i best run, just wanted to say hi.
Much love,
Sara

Seattle

Well, I'm off to Seattle for the week. I hope you all have a great week!
God Bless,
Sara

Series 7

Aaahhh! I leave on Sunday for Seattle to take my class and I'm so, so nervous! I'm halfway through my book -yeah!!- and -oh crap!!- at the same time! I still have about 300 pages left to read/understand. I take my test on the 22nd, and it has a 60% passing rate. I'm trying super hard to be positive, but I'm having a hard time. I'm so scared of failing and what that would mean to my family and job if I do fail. So if you have any extra happy vibes, float them my way if you would. Self: I can do this!!!

The Sunny Side

So, I've had this idea for my blog floating around for a while and hopefully I can write it as clearly as it is in my head. I felt that for awhile I've been on a roll of having dramatic things happen in my life. I could go really far back and say it started in June of 2006 when I lost Carson up until now, but that sounds so depressing. But that doesn't fully encompass the last two years of my life (by the way it feels more like 10 years of my life), I have had so much good happen too and I in no way mean to diminish the good and wonderful things that have happened in my life. They are the miracles that came out of the struggles.

Maybe I should start over and be more specific. I just read Melody's blog and it was so inspiring to me. It reminded me of this very specific thing she talked to me about, she said that everyone she knows that is truly amazing and wonderful and inspiring has had to go through these horrific, hard, scary challenges in their life. And this has always stuck with me. I think of this and tell myself that I want to be a great person, a wonderful person, someone for my daughter to look up to and in order to become that great person I am going to have to work really hard to get there and go through lots of yucky stuff. Now I won't say at time this thought hasn't pissed me off, because there were days when I wanted to say just screw it, I give up, I'm fine just the way I am. And then I come across someone (probably one of you) that is so inspiring to me and I think, OK, here we go, I can do this, I am going to be incredible like them.

Since I lost Carson, it feels like it has been one huge roll coaster of emotions and events. Losing Him was horrifically hard on my marriage and Kevin and I were separated for a little while, then shortly after we separated I found out I was pregnant with Addison, Kevin and I reconciled, then I lost my job, then it has been one huge, uphill, Mount Everest climb of financial difficulties which led us to loosing everything, house, cars, just everything. I was dealt a lucky hand in life I guess because it wasn't until after I lost my job that I ever had to deal with money problems. And they have just never gone away since. But let me stop, because the purpose of this post was not to list out all the reasons I have had it hard but to remind myself of all the reasons these trials were worth it.

Out of the muddy waters, truly miraculous things have happened. I have been so blessed and my eyes have been opened to the beauty of the people around me. I have been so touched my the random acts of kindess that I have been able to witness in my life. Last winter we had family and friends bring us groceries, we had clothes and toys given to Addison, we had special events that our family made us a part of, we had the greatest out pouring of love and support from the people in our lives.

These past two years have taught me the greatest lesson, look at the sunny side. I've been taking a close look at my life lately and it occured to me that I have just as many problems that I've always had. One goes away and is replaced by a new one, but that is part of life. So I have been working at looking at the sunny side and by doing this I feel this huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I laugh at myself somtimes becuase it just seems so much easier to be happy now and its like why wasn't I smart enough to start doing this two years ago. But thats why I've had the experiences I've had, to get me to this place, this place where it doesn't matter my life isn't perfect with a big red bow on it, but this is my life and it is wonderfully messy, and it is mine and it makes me happy!

I find new joy in the simple things. I have fallen in love all over again with my husband, I see my daugther with a new awarness of how special she is, there is a new joy of just being at home on a Saturday night and eating a home cooked meal with my family, and I have a new sense of excitement for the path that is in front of me.

Wishing you much love,
Sara

Fab Fall Friday

What a fab morning! Nice and cool outside, I have my fall scarf on and my new knock-off ugg boots on and my Starbucks in my hand. Yummy! Kevin and Addi were sleeping in while I was on my way to work, I love Fridays, its my day of the week I get to wear jeans to work and I treat myself to Starbucks. They have new flavored hot chocolates which I am going to have to try next Friday, but today its Pumpkin Spice. I totally enjoyed my drive into work, its my alone time everyday and I really enjoy it. This morning I had the windows cracked for the wonderful fresh, fall morning air and loved my view of the sun rising over the corn fields with mist on the ground, listening to some of my fav tunes loud. And now I'm listening to a whole bunch of my other fav tunes of Lori's blog and Hudson likes it too, he's totally moving around having a party -tender. I love Kate Voegele, I need to go buy that cd. What a great morning, one that makes me just happy to be alive! Well, that's about it for now. Just wanted to spread a little Friday morning cheer.

Much Love,

Sara

Here I come....

Ok! I did it! I just scheduled my Series 7 General Securities Representative Exam for October 22! I leave for Seattle in 10 days to take my class on how to take the test. Its a five day, eight hours a day class, I'm going to need all the brain power I can get. And I'm not sure how well I'm going to hold up with a whole six days away from Addi! Wish me luck...I think I'm going to need it.

Tender...Kisses to Daddy

So Addi and I were just hanging out last night and missing being with Daddy so we decided to send him a video. It's not very clear cause I took it on my phone, and its only about 30 seconds. You have to see the end, that's the best part. Warms my heart! So precious and tender! I just love her so much!

Great Reciepe

I came across this recipe and it really was as easy and cheap as they claimed it to be. I did cheat though and on the chicken I used the pre-sliced, pre-cooked chicken strips from Costco that all you have to do is heat in the oven. They are about $15/bag but they lasted me about 4 months, they are great to have on hand, for chicken tortillas, or any chicken recipe that calls for pre-cooked chicken. Anyway, below is a copy of the recipe. I used large lemons for lots of juice and I added more olive oil and red pepper flakes, but you can just season to taste. It really was cheap too, which I love, just lemon, pasta and chicken. I used a little bit of dried parsley for the garnish. Enjoy!


FoodNetwork.com Recipe Cards
Print and cut along the dotted lines to add these 4x6 recipe cards to your collection.

1
Easy Lemon Pasta with Chicken
Recipe courtesy The Neelys
Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: hr min
Cook Time: 25 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 3 to 5 servings
Ingredients1 pound dried penne 2 chicken cutlets, cut into fingers Salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 cloves garlic, sliced 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 3 tablespoons olive oil 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley, for garnish 2 lemons, juiced 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
DirectionsCook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, until al dente. Drain well. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large grill pan over medium high and add chicken. Grill until golden and completely cooked. Remove to a plate and slice.
Copyright 2008 Television Food Network G.P., All Rights Reserved

2
Easy Lemon Pasta with Chicken
Recipe courtesy The NeelysAdd the garlic and red pepper flakes to a saute pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and saute until fragrant. Add the cooked pasta and turn heat off. Mix all together. Remove pasta to a large bowl. Add chicken to the warm pasta and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in chopped parsley. Add the juice of 2 lemons and mix. Before serving top with Parmesan.
Copyright 2008 Television Food Network G.P., All Rights Reserved
Printed from FoodNetwork.com on 09/25/2008
© 2008 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved