DownEast Giveaway

Check out this giveaway I just entered. Good luck! Well, I don't entirely mean that ... because I hope I win. But if someone I know wins, that would be awesome too.

Goat Cheese

If you haven't tried it, do. Any true lover of cheese will find it's rich, tangy taste addicting. I first came to love it after having it at one of my favorite restaurants, Cafe Trio.

So I was watching Giada at Home (my favorite Food Network show) last week and she was making a penne pasta with a spinach, garlic, cream cheese and goat cheese sauce. I knew I would love that pasta forever once I treid it. So, I made it last night and it was all I hoped for.

Here is the recipe. Simple, healthy and delicious! I added grilled chicken on the side, and I added a little milk to the sauce when I blended it together since I don't have a food processor. Enjoy! Long live goat cheese. I even had a dream about it last night. Weird, but true.

Utah Valley's Happiest Couples.

Wanna meet a couple of them? I wrote about them in this month's issue of Utah Valley Magazine. They were a delight to interview, and I came away with some great tips to make my marriage more happy. Click here and enjoy!

Family Matters.

I love this photo of smiling baby cousins.

My sister Jeni and I hope they become best friends. We figure they're well on their way since they already share clothes — in the form of hand-me-downs, anyway. Kate is a wee bit chunkier than my small fry. Don't you want to squish those cheeks and that belly? It really is as fun as it seems.

This, my friends, is my sweet sister, Haley Allyson, after her performance with the Alta High dance company. {Thus the interesting makeup. Yes, it was for an evil doll dance.} She is an incredibly talented dancer and such a down-to-earth teenager. I hope Ellie takes after her aunt Haley. Haley, I love you so much and can't wait for you to move to Provo this fall for college so we can hang out and I can feed you and your friends!

Family shot.

I have a sizey family. Here are just a few of them. Top to bottom, left to right: Jeni (sis), Mom, Arthur(Jess' hub), Micah (Rache's hub), Craig(step-dad), Haley(sis), Jess(sis), Me & El, Kira(sis), Kim(sis), Rachel(sis) and Kate(Jen's baby). And there are plenty more sister and brothers where that came from {8, to be precise.} 

I went to dinner with my dad last week and he mentioned how great it is that Heavenly Father organized His children into families. I couldn't agree more. It is incredible how much love, support and joy comes from having a family. I couldn't live without them!

Masquerade Party

Everyone needs a girls' night now and again. 

{I made a mini-mask for Ellie}

{Mom and matching ellie. And yes, I realize I have more of a catwoman look than a masquerade look. Whoops.}

{The night included a grueling game of full-contact spoons,}

{homemade crème brulée by Jessica, my gourmet cook sister ...}

{ ... which she was later dared to wolf down within 10 seconds,}

{a truly inspiring rendition of the Jordan High cheer, performed by two of Jordan's best x-cheerleaders,}

{and a Nelly-like rap improvised by Karlee, also known as K-Dawg. Yes, I have video. And no, I won't post it here because I love Karlee too much. The only reason we got her to do it was so she could claim the headband she is wearing  — handmade by yours truly — as her prize}

Thanks for a fun night, girls!

Birthday Trip

{Rachel & Micah had us over for birthday pazookis before we left for our trip. Yum!}

Clay made my birthday so fun with a surprise breakfast {yogurt and fresh fruit}, a gift certificate to Famous Footwear and the complete collection of the Gilmore Girls seasons {best present ever}. He took me to lunch at Kneaders, and watched Ellie while I tried out my new bike shoes (an early bday present I had gotten for myself) at spin class.

Going on a weekend getaway with my mom and stepdad was icing on the cake after such a fun birthday. The first night, we played some fun games: In the Manner of the Verb, Truth or Dare (I made my mom scream "I'm not wearing underwear" from the front porch! and Apples to Apples.

{I love El's smiling face! She was so happy during the entire trip. Glad to know she loves to travel like her mama.}

{Bday dinner at Benja. Very yummy. I love Thai food!}

{It wasn't warm enough to swim, but I put Ellie in her suit anyway.}

{Ellie is such a daddy's girl already.}

P.S. Head over to my Belly Mamas blog to enter a giveaway!

Birthday Thoughts

 

{me and some friends on my 25th birthday.}

This is my last day of being 25. 

And while I always look forward to my next age with excited expectation, this year feels a little different.
When I'm 26, I'm no longer in my early 20s. I'll have passed the middle-point of the 20s and I'll be on my way to the {gasp} late 20s. One step closer to the age that always sounded so old to me ... thirty. But for now, I am happy to still be in my 20s — the party decade. And really, who's to say every age can't be a "party" age?

My entire 25th year was dedicated to growing a baby in my belly.

{I got pregnant on my birthday, so in a way, I like to think Ellie and I share a birthday.}  

It was such a joyful year of anticipation and new meaning. In my 25th year, my life was irrevocably changed. I became a mom. And now I'll have that title forever. 

In my 26th year, I hope to leave behind a lot of fears and doubts and be more bold and daring. To have more confidence in myself. As a wife, mother, writer, actor and exerciser ... and anything else I want to be-er. To try new things without worrying what people will think. I hope to read a lot and learn a lot. To become unshakable and unashamed of my testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  And most of all,  to stop wasting time being so concerned about my own little world and start doing things for others. To foster real, meaningful, deep relationships with family and friends and to reach out to people who need uplifting. 

I'd like to think of tomorrow as the first day of the rest of my life — my new and improved life. So, happy birthday to me! Here I come, 26. Do your worst. I'll do my best.