Monday, March 10, 2008

kelli's shower

On Saturday I helped host a baby shower for my friend Kelli Granum. She is having a girl so we decided a pink theme would be appropriate. It was held in the basement of my building. It's a little dark and drab so to cheer things up we covered everything with pink. I made pink and white Martha Stewart tissue pom-poms (thanks Jill), we had a variety of pink foods and drinks and we placed different shades of pink flowers around the room to soften things up. There are so many things you can do with pink and it was so fun decorating and seeing it all come together. We are so excited for Bryan and Kelli and we can't wait to meet baby Granum!!

I know I'm posting a lot of pictures but there are a lot of you who wanted to see them.










Tuesday, March 04, 2008

go red for women and new beginnings

Last Friday I was able to attend the Go Red for Women luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria as a guest at the KPMG table, thanks Stacey!! At first I thought it would be just a boring lunch but decided to go because I knew it would be fancy if it was at the Waldorf. Well little did I know it was going to be much better then just lunch.



So we arrived, checked our coats and walked into the grand ballroom that was decorated red, of course. The center pieces were beautiful and made everything look so elegant. When we walked in there were about 50 tables and I was certain ours would be towards the back. I was wrong; our table was front and center. Now I don't know if the table location depends on the amount of the donation but I have to say, KPMG picked a good spot.

We sat down and our food was already there waiting for us. As we began to eat the MC welcomed all of as well as the two special guests, Martha Stewart and Tim Gunn. Yes that is right I was sitting one table away from Tim and two away from Martha. I did see and talk to Tim on our flight home from Houston last October but it's always fun to see him looking so sharp in his fancy suits.

Martha was the Honorary Guest and she gave a very nice speech. She talked about the American Heart Association, the Health Center she justed opened and her mother. She looked so nice and was cracking quite a few jokes.




(This is a picture I found of last years dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria)

After the lunch was over we were going to ask Tim who wins Project Runway, Christan or Gillian? But he was cornered by someone more important. We were a little bummed but were surprised with a wonderful goodie bag filled with little gifts. We got a copy of Martha's body + soul magazine, a book by one of the doctors that spoke, Steve Madden flip-flops, a Coach key chain and many more little surprises. I really felt like a movie star when they get there little goodie bags from all the designers at the Oscars. Thank you KPMG, for a wonderful afternoon!

Friday night was our YW's New Beginnings and it was such a wonderful night. I was a little worried that the program wasn't going to work but everything worked out perfectly and we had a very spiritual evening. Each YW contributed, Jenny gave a wonderful talk on her favorite value and Lisa played a beautiful musical number on her violin. The bishop ended with a wonderful message on New Beginnings and I hope it inspires the girls to start working on there personal progress.

I took a picture but I will post it later.

Monday, February 25, 2008

did you know?

My aunt sent me this list with so many helpful tips, so I thought I would pass it along.
Jason tried reheating pizza on the skillet and it really tasted like he had just ordered it. It was so much better then reheating it in the microwave and my mom said after reading the list she went and washed her lint filter but I guess we'll have to wait a while to see if it prevents her from burnging the house down.
I'm excited to try out all the helpful tips. They may not work, but I guess it never hurts to try.

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little "stringy things" off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andesmints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simple chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.

And.
1. Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

2. Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

3. Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

4. Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

5. Newspaper weeds away start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

6. Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

7. No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

8. Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

9. Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

10. Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- ta da! -- static is gone.

11. Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

12. Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

13. Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

14. Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair...

15. Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

16. Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

17. INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean.

(I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.)
He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like.well,...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free -- that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!
Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right Thru the screen! There wasn't any pudding at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

happy valentine's day



I love Valentine’s Day, not for the flowers, balloons or gifts but that, for one day, we are able to remember the ones we love and how much they mean to us. It's the one day when everyone seems to be just a little bit nicer. Already at work I have had several people tell me "Happy Valentine's Day" and I love it. How can that not make your day a little brighter? I hope you all have a wonderful day and take the time to remember all the ones you love.

And to my own husband I would like to say that I love you more then you will ever know. These last 5 years have been amazing (I can't believe we've been together that long)!! We've done so much and I have loved every minute. I'm so proud of you and all you do, you know what you want and you always work so hard to make sure that you get it. I know these next few years are going to be quite an adventure and I'm so happy that I get to be by your side through it all. Love you!!

For your enjoyment, I have added a few of my favorite love songs to the bottom of the blog. I know some are cheesy, some are a little too country and others are kind of old but who cares ... it's Valentine's.

Monday, February 11, 2008

new york friends

When we first moved to the city I was really homesick. Jason was studying and I had no job and no one to talk to. I didn't know what I was going to do and I felt so lost and alone in this big city. The one thing that has helped me to love and appreciate living in this wonderful city is the friends that I have made while I've been out here.

There is something about the women in our ward and how we all seem to be there for one another that has made the transition to a big city that much easier. Every week at church I have friends ask me how my week is going. If I ever need anything I have ten friends volunteering to help me and if I'm feeling lonely because Jason's finals are approaching and he's constantly studying I always know that there will be an invitation to watch a favorite show or go out to dinner.

I have an amazing book club that I am so grateful to be apart of were each month I get together with some of the finest women I know. We have the greatest discussions and after each meeting I truly walk away feeling like each woman will be a forever friend. Along with book club I get together with a stamp club and we make cute cards each month, discuss motherhood and just laugh. These women have scared me so much that sometimes I don't think I can handle childbirth but at the same time have helped me to realize just how doable having a baby in the city can be. Each are amazing mothers and I hope I can follow their examples when I'm ready to have my own children.

But the one thing I love most about my friends in the city is how we all need each other. With busy husbands working late nights and weekends and other husbands traveling or studying sometimes we only have each other. I just want to say thank you to all of the friends I have made. Each of you have touched my life in one way or another and I know we will always be friends.

Speaking of friends, this past weekend we had a fun filled Saturday night with friends. We went to Bennihanna's, a first for Jason and I, with Bryan and Kelli, Joe and Megan, and Laurel and Brad; where we were entertained by our chef while he creatively cooked our food in front of us. After dinner we went back to our apartment and had birthday cake for Bryan's birthday, Happy Birthday Bryan, and played a mean game of wii tennis. My favorite of course was just visiting and laughing. We had a wonderful night, thanks guys!!

Monday, February 04, 2008

go giants!!



Last night, as most of you know, the NY Giants beat the New England Patriots. Now, I enjoy the superbowl, I like having friends over and enjoying good food, I enjoy watching the funny commercials and sometimes even the half time show but I never knew a football game could be so important to some many people. This was such a huge upset and the fact that the Giants ruined the chances of the Patriots finishing with a perfect season makes the victory that much sweeter. I will admit I didn't really watch the game but it has been amazing to be apart of the win last night.

Immediately after their victory all the Giants fans of Manhattan began screaming from their apartment windows, hundreds of cabs honked their horns and some fans even ran up and down the streets screaming. Today at work there is constant chatter of the victory and no work is being done.

It's so exciting to be apart of a winning team. Unfortunately the Jazz have never made it far enough so I never knew what it was like ... maybe this year!

Tomorrow there will be a parade for the Giants up 5th Avenue and hopefully I'll get a chance to go and take pictures so you all can see our winning team.

Correction: The parade is going to be downtown at 11 am so I'm not going to be able to see it ... sorry-no pictures. Thanks for the info Chris.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

President Gordon B. Hinckley

Thank you for being such a good example to us all ...

(You can scroll down to the bottom of the page to stop the music)

Also, My friend, Elise Soukup, writes for Newsweek and this is an article she wrote on the future of the church.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

happy birthday shae!!

Yesterday was Shae's birthday. We weren't able to go to the party but we were kind of dissapointed to hear that she only nibbled at her cake ... we were hoping she would put her face in it. Shae is the cutist little girl, she's loves to say hi, dance to grandma's loud music, pull funny faces at the camera and is bravely walking from one standing object to the next. We loved seeing her at Christmas and we can't wait till we get to see her again. Each time we see her she has grown and her little personality is more developed. We can't wait for the day when she will get to talk to us over the phone. We love you Shae!!






Sunday, January 13, 2008

christmas in review

I know Christmas and New Year's have already come and gone and I'm way behind on the posting but I'm starting my new year's resolutions a little late this year, so lets hope I can do better. After going home and talking with family and friends I realized that a lot of you check our blog you just never comment. So I will try to do a better job for all of you silent stalkers out there.

Our Christmas was wonderful. Jason turned in his last final the day before we left so on Friday we were able to enjoy the lights of the city before we headed out of town. After a long day of flying (remind me never to book a flight with layovers again) we arrived in Utah to a beautiful winter wonderland. Last year when we went home there was no snow and I felt a little cheated. It snows in New York but after the fifty million cabs drive through it it just doesn't look as nice. So this year I was so happy to see Utah the way it should be at Christmas.

We spent Christmas eve and Christmas day going back and forth between families. We are so grateful they all live so close so we can enjoy the special day with everyone. The highlights of Christmas this year was watching Shea open all of her presents from grandpa and grandma (3/4 of the presents under the tree were hers), the Wii was a HUGE hit and worth the pain of having to lug it from NY to Utah and back again and Nicole and Josh's wedding. Unfortunately we had a little scare when grandpa Larry had a heart attack the day after Nicole's wedding but we were all so glad that we were able to be there for him and happy to hear that the recovery is going well.

Now I know the real reason everyone checks the blog is to see the pictures and this year I took a bunch ... enjoy!!

Grandpa and Shea


Shea pulling a funny face while riding her new zebra


The boys playing a mean game of Wii Tennis (Trevor was the champion)


Mitch and Griffin being rockstars


Nicole and Josh after they just came out of the temple


The Twins


The McKnights


Jason's family


The whole family


The girls


The boys


Sisters


Temple Square





Grandpa and Shea again


Shea's smiles



Ricky rocking out

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

i'll be home for christmas ...

I am so excited to go home for Christmas this year. It's so fun to be away for so long and then be able to go home at this special time of the year and be with my family. This year, more than ever before, I've realized how special Christmas really is. These last couple of weeks I've been remembering all of the special memories of my childhood at Christmas and how special my parents always made it for us. This year we have a baby in our family and I can't wait to spend the holidays with her. The past few years have been a little boring ... there's just something about children and the spirit of Christmas that makes the holiday that much sweeter.

Last year at this time I was homesick and tired of the city but this year as I've walked the streets I've gained a greater appreciation for this amazing city. Last year I missed all the Christmas lights on everyone's homes but this year I've seen just how many amazing lights are all around me here in the city. I don't have a Christmas tree in my house, but everyday at lunch I can walk a few blocks and see the Rockefeller Christmas tree or walk down the street from our apartment to see the beautiful tree in the arch of Washington Square. I am so grateful to be living in this amazing city.

The one thing I hate about this time of year is that I have to enjoy all the sites and sounds of the city alone. Jason has been hard at work preparing for finals this past month and we haven't been able to do any Christmas shopping together. He works so hard and I am so proud of him and his dedication to his studies. I know someday it will all be worth it but right now I just don't think its fair. Most schools are done with finals the first of December but for some reason NYU Law thinks their students need to work right up until Christmas. Tomorrow Jason will turn in his last final and then we will have one day to enjoy the city together before we leave for home. Just one more year and then we will FINALLY get to enjoy the holidays like a normal couple ... I can't wait.
If we miss saying it to you before we leave or miss seeing you when we are home ... have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope you are able to enjoy the sweet spirit of this time of the year with the ones you love.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Little Cowboy

I love Christmas and even though I'm trying to become a city girl ... I'll always be a country girl at heart. I thought I would share this with all of you. We all need a little reminders this time of year to help us remember what Christmas is all about.

Friday, November 30, 2007

homeless


This morning as I was leaving our building two firefighters walked in demanding they get into our basement. I thought it was a little strange and then I walked out to the street and realized something was going on. There were dozens of firetrucks lining the streets and a huge hole in the middle of the street with smoke coming out of it. After living here a while I wasn't really surprised so I continued down the street thinking nothing of it.

Shortly after I arrived at work I received a phone call from Jason informing me that there was some type of explosion/fire in the manhole and all electricity to our building had been shut off. This normally wouldn't be that big of a deal but finals are approaching and Jason hates to study at the library, so he was pretty upset when he realized in order to study from his computer he was going to have to leave the building.

Then about an our ago Jason frantically called telling me that our entire building was being evacuated and that he needed to know what I wanted because he was going to run in there and grab his books. At this point I got a little worried ... what the heck is going on? Obviously it is more than a small fire or they wouldn't be evacuating the building. After giving Jason my limited number of items (apparently the books are more important then my make-up) he was on his way back to the library. He now just sent me an email from NYU informing us of the situation and letting us know that they are hoping to get backup generators for the building by 9pm tonight to restore the power to our building, but if they are unable to do so there will be cots and linens provided for us at Coles (the gym) for the night. Yeah right ... I'm not sleeping on a cot at the stinking gym. Let's hope ConEd gets their crap together or I may be sleeping in the park.

I'll keep you posted ...

sheena was a man

This is for all the book club girls.
Now remember - I haven't seen this video since high school and I guess I didn't completely understand what it was saying or notice the dancers ... so don't think I'm a bad person. Just skip ahead to the Sheena part.
My friend Melissa discovered this song and we used to get in my Jeep, roll down the windows and turn it up as loud as it could go while dragging main. We thought we were soooo cool.
You gotta love the 80's!

Monday, November 26, 2007

ElfYourself

Click here to see how Jason and I get ready for the holidays.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

happy thanksgiving



I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! This year I will be hosting Thanksgiving in my tiny apartment and I'm so excited. It's always hard for me to be away from my family but this year I am so lucky to be having dinner with our new friends Brent and Holly and our old friends Eddie and Michelle who are driving all the way from Ohio to be with us.

I am so thankful to be living in this wonderful city with my amazing husband. He studies so hard and I can't wait for the day when he will be able to see all the benefits from all of his hard work. I am thankful for our tiny apartment. I know most would go crazy in a studio apartment but I love that I can cook and Jason can study all in the same room. Whenever I want to talk he's always right there to listen and whenever I get mad he's still right there waiting for me to talk.

I am so thankful for my family, it's fun to talk to them each week and here all about what Shae is doing now. I love that they miss me so much that they shipped a smoked turkey all the way across the country just so I wouldn't miss out on our family tradition. And I am so thankful for my faith and the guidance it has given me since moving to NY. I don't know where I would be without the church in my life. I have made so many wonderful friends in this city who I know will always be there for me. In the words of Josh Groban "I have so much to be thankful for".

Monday, November 05, 2007

tis the season

To help jump start the holidays out here in NY Jason and I went to The Grinch with some of our friends on Saturday. I loved it!! It was very short, no intermission, but the little Who costumes were amazing. The story was narrated by the older Max, the Grinch's dog, telling the story of the year the Grinch stole Christmas. My favorite was The Grinch, we brought along our trusty binoculars so we could get a better look, his costume and make-up were incredible, he looked almost identical to Jim Carey in the movie.

While Jason enjoyed the show, not nearly as much as I did, he confessed it would have been a lot more fun if we had kids. It looks like seeing The Grinch every year will not be added to our list of Holiday traditions.



After the show we all went backed to Kelli and Bryan's apartment and Megan and I were surprised with birthday balloons and a cake. Together we both blew out the candles and it was so fun to have a little party and be able to visit with friends, thank you Kimber and Kelli for arranging a lovely night!


To keep me in the holiday spirit I've added a list of my favorite Christmas songs for you to enjoy. So if your not ready for the holidays to begin I suggest you either turn down your volume or don't check this blog until you are.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

happy halloween

Now that we've been in NY for over a year everything that we've done more that once starts to become a tradition and the first of many to come is our favorite ... the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. Click here to read about our experience last year. I've posted a few pictures to make you feel like you didn't miss out on any of the fun.