Us

Here is a recent picture of us.  

Don't we look so cute?

Chopped

If I were to say, “You have been chopped.”

Does that mean anything to you?  Do you even know what I am referring to? 

If you know what I am talking about, you and I have just bonded on another level of friendship.

Seriously. 

I am obsessed with the show Chopped.  I record every episode and rerun that I can find. 

It basically drives Ryan crazy with how many shows I make him watch with me.  (Secretly, I think he really enjoys watching it even though he makes a big fuss when I turn it on).

I wish I could compete on this show.  But alas, I am only a measly little cook that can only dream about being star chef.  Sigh. 

I do have to say that when the mystery ingredients are revealed, I try to decide what I would whip up then one of the chefs has the same idea as mine and does it.  I think I would make a mean competitor if I were on the show!

Anyway, enough blabbing on and on.  I am really grateful that Ryan puts up with me and watches Chopped.  Little does he know that it means a lot to me. 

Oh and one of these days I am going to have Ryan pick four random ingredients from my kitchen and I am going to make dinner from those items.  Stay tuned…  I will be sure to blog about how it went.

September

This past september has brought back a lot of fond memories for me.

I have come to realize that I am really fond of this particular month.   

It is the month that Ryan and I went on our first date.  

It is the month that we shared our first kiss.

And it is the month that I knew I was going to marry him (he hadn’t figured that out yet). 

It has now been one year since all of this happened. 

Phew!  Talk about some big life changes, eh? 

Seriously, if you would have told me last summer that I would be married within the year, I would have laughed in your face. 

And…. probably thought you were a big bloomin’ idiot….

Lo and behold, here I am a year later…  married.  Happily, I might add.  

Who would have known?!?! 

Definitely not me... 

I am sad that September is over.  But alas, October is here and that makes it one month closer to Christmas.  

I can't wait.    

      

Wicked

Have you ever seen this musical? 

You have not lived if you haven’t…

Seriously. 

I went to New York and saw Wicked about five years ago and fell in love.  The scenery, characters and costumes are enough to make you want to move to Oz.  And can I just say that the story line is so creative?  It is just amazing. 

But don’t take my word for it, go see it yourself.  I promise that it’s worth it. 

When Ryan and I first started dating, his dad had just purchased 12 tickets to see the play the following year.  I remember thinking “I hope Ryan and I are still dating by then because I want to go see Wicked again!”

Low and behold, a year later, we are married… so I got to go. ;)   

Last Thursday was the big night we had all been waiting for.  The clan - Chuck, Scott, Annalee, Denise, Janette, Brad, Nanci, Jed, Ryan and Me. 

 

As soon as the lights went down and the play started, I was glued to the stage.  Ga-lenda or Glenda (whichever you prefer) was my favorite.  The person who played her was fabulous to say the least.  I was laughing pretty much the whole time.  And the music?  I could go on forever with how impressed I was…    

By the end of the musical, I was sobbing like a baby.  A baby.  It was so good that I just got caught up with the emotion of it!    

Seriously, I loved every minute of it.  I wish I could go again…  

Shh...

What I am about to tell you is a deep and dark hidden secret. 

Not even my husband knows this about me…    

I am addicted to magazines. 

What kind of magazines you ask?  All kinds. 

I don’t know what it is about a magazine that just catches my attention.  Maybe it's the quick read or the bright colors of each article.  Or maybe it is the information, pictures, ideas and recipes that fill each page.  Who knows… I just know that I love them.

I am so addicted that I don’t mind sitting in the waiting room at the dentist because I will get to look at a magazine.  The same goes for the grocery line, if the line is long, I have time to flip through a few that are on display.  There are even times when I will just go to the library or Barnes and Noble to look through the new magazines that month.  And I may or may not flip through a magazine when I am going to the bathroom… TMI… sorry.    

Anyway, my husband has no idea that I like magazines so much because he met me in a time of my life when I was extremely busy. I was so busy in fact, that could hardly make time for anything but school, work, teaching and planning events for Weber State.  However, now that my life has slowed down quite a bit, I have time to enjoy a magazine or two… or three…. 

So, I have recently subscribed to a magazine.

Maybe a couple. 

Okay, I lied.  I have recently subscribed to a few. 

6 of them to be exact… 

Family Circle

EveryDay with Rachel Ray

Better Homes and Gardens

Taste of Home

Martha Stewart Everyday Food

and last but not least…

Martha Stewart Living

Ryan is going to kill me. 

He doesn’t share my same enthusiasm for magazines.  Crazy, right?

Because of my magazine subscribing frenzy, I have been trying to break the news to him nicely but that isn’t working very well so I am hoping that the fact I got a killer deal on all of them will make Ryan feel better about the whole situation.  

Maybe I should have ordered some “manly” magazines to make him feel included.  Oh well, too late now.  Or is it?  There is one more magazine I would like to order.   

Hmm…  

Well aside from that, I am just thrilled to be starting my own personal little magazine library.   

Hopefully Ryan will feel the same way when he reads this post. :) 

One website

There is one website that has changed ALL of our lives whether directly or indirectly.

If you look around, meals have become more gourmet.

Home decorating has become excessively fun.

Weddings are now planned 10 years in advance.  

Crafts have become a daily hobby.

Holidays are more fun to celebrate.

Making a gift isn't lame, it is now cool.

Each party now has a specific theme.

And the list goes on... 

What is this website you ask? (Like you already didn't know) 

Admit it, 

Where would we all be without this site?  

I am convinced that it is God's personal gift to women.  

Alissa and Alice

Alissa had her famous birthday party yesterday.  

The theme this year was Alice in Wonderland.  

The decorations were so cute and it looked like an actual tea party!

Oh and I made this treat for the party... 

The party wouldn't have been complete without the Cheshire Cat!  

Cute right?

Sushi 101

I am taking a sushi class today.  

It is my first official cooking class.

It's being taught at the Harmons in Farmington.  

I am glad my friend Kristi is going with me.    

I just know we are going to have a blast. 

My dreams of becoming a master chef are coming true.  

Wish me luck. 

Pessimist vs. Optimist

I am an optimist.

Ryan is a pessimist.  

And yet, our marriage is still wonderful.

I love him terribly.  

Oh and this picture made me laugh... :) 

Happy Olympics

If you know me well, I can't pass up a chance to do something creative and celebrate random occasions.  Since the Olympics will be hosted in London this year, we just had to celebrate so I made...

Fish n' chips

 Fruit Pizza... Great Brittan Flag style. 

Then after we ate more than we could handle, we watched the opening ceremonies.  I have to admit that the opening ceremonies weren't my favorite but the James Bond and Mr. Bean parts both made me laugh.  

I love the Olympics.    

Post Share

My brother Tyler wrote this post on his blog and I need to share it with you all, it is just too good to pass up...  

Family Look Alikes

http://taphelps-cestmavie.blogspot.com/

Bob Parr from the Incredibles driving his tiny blue car from home work reminds me of my Dad! He drives a little blue car and takes up most of the car!




Anne Frank. Most of my mom's pictures when she was younger were in black in white. Trust me when I say my mom may be a descendant of Anne Frank!

Kari the Babysitter! Lanky with a ponytail, braces, and some of her Mannerisms remind us of our Poody!!!

Dewy from Malcom in the Middle. My first Grade Picture and this picture right here are practically identical!

Both Shia Labeouf and Michael love rocking the Jew Fro!  

I had to get help with Cynthia's because I couldn't figure out a look alike for her! This one of Tiffani Thiessen is pretty good not gunna like!













My Brother in law Ryan's look alike has to be Joseph Smith! Pretty cool I'd have to say!

Chris Evans from Captain America and so many other movies reminds me of my brother in law Brandon! Vanessa Agreed!







I watched Sword and the Stone the other day and could not figure out who these two squirrels reminded me of! I figured it out! :) My Grandparents from France! My Grandma has a lot of Spunk and Energy where as my grandpa likes to keep things simple. I laughed when I finally figured it out!

That's my family in a nut shell!

Modern Family

I miss them...

I cannot wait until they come back.
September can't come soon enough.
Season 4 here we come...

Shout-out

I’d like to give a shout-out to one of my favorite people.

This special person and I went to the same college right out of high school.

This person loves sushi almost as much as me.

This person and I love Josh Groban.   

This person and I share the same birthday month. 

This person is the only member of my family that reads my blog…

This person is my brother Tyler!

I would just like him to know how much I love him and admire his determination to do good.  He keeps our family glued together and is always making sure that we spend a lot of time together as a family.  He is very selfless and is constantly looking for ways to serve others around him.  I am grateful that he is my little brother.  Our family would not be complete without his kind and loving spirit.

He has been up at school in Logan but he just moved back home this week!!!! Yahoo!  

Love you Tyler!   

Lucy

As I start writing this post,  I just have to laugh.  I didn't realize how well some of you actually know me.  I thought some of you would have written Rachel Ray or other celebrity chefs but you are right.  

    

The correct answer is Lucille Ball, or as she is more commonly know, Lucy. 

Since Tyler was the first person to get it right, he will be getting a delicious homemade dessert for guessing the correct answer.   

However, I will make an exception to the rule and make sure all of you that commented will get a homemade dessert from me.  You know how much I love to cook and bake anyway, I don't mind.  (James and Lauri, when are you coming into town?) 

Anyway back to my post, I Love Lucy.

Now, don’t go blaming me on this crazy obsession because it was my mother who started it!  When I was little, my mom started collecting all the I Love Lucy seasons on DVD.  I absolutely fell in love with every episode.  I would laugh and laugh at all the crazy stuff that Lucy would get herself into.  Then once my mom owned all the seasons, she began to collect the Lucy Barbie dolls.  I loved looking at the small detail that they would put into every doll.  It was like Lucy had come to life for me.  One summer we even took a trip and visited where Lucy was born… Jamestown, New York.  One Halloween I dressed up like Lucy.  My mother made the blue polka dot dress, red wig and all.  I have even been given Lucy pajama pants, address books, journals, cookbooks, purses, and so much more!  I have tons of her memorabilia!    

How can someone not be obsessed with this kind of upbringing?!

Again, let me reiterate, I Love Lucy. 

Yesterday Ryan and I were watching an episode that I recorded on DVR.  The TV guide said the episode title was “Lucy’s Schedule” and within the first few seconds of watching the show I knew that there was a slight problem.  The show we were watching was actually “Ricky has labor pains”.  TV land made a mistake on the title of the show they were showing.  Only a true Lucy fan would have caught that slip-up! 

I love that fact that Lucy could make people laugh and she didn’t do it by being vulgar or crude.  It was just good, plain ol’ humor and the best part about it is that she continues to make people laugh through her reruns that are broadcasted all over the world.  What a legacy!

Did you know that she suffered from Ornithophobia?  (I had to look it up when I first found out… it’s an abnormal fear of birds.)

I could go on and on and on and on about all the things I have learned about her life through documentaries, books, and the internet.  However, I won’t bore you.  Just know that I Love Lucy.   

Lunch dates

Today I asked some family and friends, “If you could have lunch with any famous person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?”

Here are some of the responses I got back...

“Jesus. Cause you have to answer Jesus to a question like that. Celebrity… probably Michael Buble. He or Warren Buffet.  I would ask him to give me a job.”

“Hitler. I’d want to see what was going on in his corrupt mind.”  (Seriously didn’t see that one coming…) 

“Marie Antoinette, Elizabeth I, Kate Middleton, Jane Austen, Emma Thompson, and Jennifer Lawrence. Just a few ;).”

"Emma Watson.  She's freakin' good looking"

“I would eat breakfast at Tiffany’s with Audrey Hepburn”

“Joseph Smith because I want to hear him tell me the story of the first vision. Or Abraham Lincoln because he is the bomb.”

“He says Jimmy Stewart because he has heard that he is a nice person. Me probably Jack Johnson because I would love to know some of the stories behind the things he writes.  Plus, I think he should be a Mormon so I would give him a BOM as well.”

“Audrey Hepburn and Princess Diana.  I think they are amazing women. We don’t see too many amazing women like that in the public eye these days.”

“Grace Kelly or Jackie Kennedy.  Both are so amazing, influential, and interesting”

“Probably Alma. I have a lot of questions for him.”

“I would go to lunch with Walt Disney.  I want to know the man behind the mouse.  I also want to know if he likes the Disney that is here today.”

“Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, or Audrey Hepburn.  Their names say it all!!!!”

Aren't some of these answers funny?  I laughed when I got some of these responses back.

Now you must all be wondering, "Who would you chose Cynthia?"

Well, I am not telling... just yet...    

However, the first person to comment and guess the person correctly will get a delicious dessert, delivered and made by me.  If you live out of the state, other arrangements might have to be made. :) 

I will give you one hint... none of the people mentioned above would be my lunch date.  

Oh and make sure you only guess one person.   I will announce the winner tomorrow evening in an another blog post…

Good Luck!

Happy 4th

Captain America punching Hitler.... how much more American can we get?  

Happy 4th everyone.  

My ESPN

I found an online survey of 1,822 sports fans (men) conducted on December 15-21, 2010 by Hart Research Associates for ESPN.  In this survey, they asked the men “About how many hours in an average week would you say you watch sports on television?”  These are the results they got:

None	--
1 hour	--
2-3 hours	26%
4 to 5 hours	26%
6 to 10 hours	24%
11 to 15 hours	12%
16 to 20 hours	6%
21 to 25 hours	3%
More than 25 hours	3%

It was interesting to see that all of them watched at least some sports television each week.  And astonishingly, 3% watch more than 25 hours per week.  With the amount of men in this survey, that is approximately 55 men.  Phew, that is a ton of television per week!  I would have to say that some of these men are seriously addicted to ESPN. 

   

Now, I have a small confession to make.  I might have an addiction to a certain cable channel….  and no, it is not ESPN.  I am not someone who can watch sports for hours on end.   

My addiction is… the Food Network.  It is my ESPN. 

I did not have television  in my house growing up.  My mom believed it was nothing but filth and I have to agree with her.  However, since I have been married, I have been dying to have television/cable so I could watch the Food Network.  So…. I recently signed Ryan and I up for DirectTV just so I could have this channel.

I could very easily watch Food Network, every day and all day, but I don’t.  I really don’t have time for that.  I do have a life and I know how to control myself so that I am not a couch potato.  For example, I haven’t watched any shows since Saturday and I probably won’t have any time tonight either.  But just knowing it’s there and I could watch it if I want makes me happy. 

This type of programming is just so enlightening!  Where do you find filth in a cooking show?  Umm… there is none!  It is just a channel where the cooks and bakers of America can unite in their passion of food.  It’s like one big family.  Shows like Iron Chef, Chopped, Cupcake Wars, and Bobby Flay Throwdown just make you want to be a better person! 

        

I seriously cried my eyes out in an episode of Chopped the other night, it was so powerful and moving.  Don’t make fun of me.

What’s funny is that we have 200 other channels as well but I really don’t watch any of them. Just Food Network.  And if I see a show that I want to watch and I won’t be home to watch it or don’t have time…. I just record it on my DVR and watch it later.  I seriously have about 10 shows recorded and just waiting for me to watch one day.  

I love my life.