Well, I am finally able to participate in one of orgjunkie's monthly roundups. I am finally settled, and my house is coming together. There is nothing in my entryway, so I focused on my entryway closet, where we keep our shoes and all that. So, while these guys were playing outside, I got to it!
Here is what my closet looked like before (remember people, I just moved in that is why I haven't done it yet!)
And here are the after shots:

Citrus Herb Marinade

We make this marinade for chicken about once a week. My husband loves it, and would have it about three times a week if I made it! I got it from my friends Melanie, but she doesn't have a blog or anything.

1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate(from a frozen can)
1 tablespoon parsley
1 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced or crushed

Whisk together all the ingredients and pour over chicken. I like to use about 8 chicken thighs, but you can use any kind of chicken. The longer you marinade, the better. I like to put it together and let it marinade in the fridge all day, then bake at 400 for about an hour depending on the size of the chicken.

Here is what we are eating this week. I am going to post the recipe for tonights meal on a later blog, because it is sooo good. I am not big on pork, but I love it in this recipe.

Monday - Stuffed pork chops
Tuesday - Steak and potatoes
Wednesday - Cream Cheese Chicken rolls
Thursday - Hamburgers and hot dogs (hopefully out on the grill if I can get it together by then!)
Friday - Ham and Cheese Paninis
Saturday - Breakfast for dinner
Sunday - Citrus herb chicken

yummy chocolate chip cookies

I found a great recipe for chocolate chip cookies today on allrecipes. It is so good. They are chewy and soft and delicious. Here is the recipe!

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

A nice surprise

Today was a great day. The first nice surprise was the wonderful weather!! The second was that my husband, who has worked the last like 20 days in a row, didn't have to go to work until 2pm! I was so excited. It is the most I have seen my husband since he started his new work here. Joe and I walked with the kids to the park and just sat and enjoyed the weather. It was around 75 degrees and windy. I loved it! I could have sat out there all day. We met several of our neighbors and enjoyed some family fun. Then I took the kids to playmorning for the first time, and it was great. So many fun things to do! We had a fun day! I just hope the nice weather is still here when we wake up tomorrow!

Monday - Red Beans and Rice
Tuesday - Citrus herb chicken
Wednesday - Grilled ham & Cheese Sandwiches w/ homemade fries
Thursday - Spaghetti and meatballs
Friday - Blueberry pancakes w/ Turkey bacon
Saturday - Pork chops
Sunday - Steaks/leftovers

What I did this morning

This is what I did this morning

watched little Einsteins and super why
Made Breakfast
Cleaned the kitchen
took out the trash
Read two sentences of Breaking Dawn
Swept the kitchen floor - twice!
Unpacked three boxes
Did crafts with my kids
Changed 4 diapers
Made lunch
Got 5 drinks (not including mine)
Checked my email
ordered Jonathan's birthday present
hung a few pictures
Folded clothes and put them away
Took allergy medicine because the dust on the boxes is killing me
Read 4 books to my kids
organized the pantry
played with my kids
sang some songs
Put my kids down for a nap
Scrubbed crayon off the couch
Unloaded and loaded dishwasher

And it is only 11:45 am.
No wonder I am exhausted by the end of the day!

?

I have been unpacking and organizing my house all day long. Which is like my favorite thing to do. But it is hard work. My feet haven't hurt this long since I was 17 and I worked a double shift at CiCi's Pizza! I wanted to take a short break and write a blog entry about a few things on my mind.So, I am a Friends fanatic. I love Friends. I have every season on dvd, a few books about the show, and Friends "scene it" game. My husband calls me a Friends connoisseur. I usually watch an episode a day, if I have the time. And at the end of the day, to relax, some people sleep, or take a bath, or do yoga, but I watch Friends. I love it. Anyone who doesn't, I just don't understand. I thought I would share that.I know this is a random blog, but I have to share something cute about my sons today. Well, we went to the playground this morning and there were of course other mothers and children. So we chatted, and then when they left my oldest said "see you yater guys!" It was the cutest thing. He is mister sociable. I wonder where he gets that....for those of you who know my husband, you can answer that! Then tonight when I was putting my kids to bed I sang them a few church songs. One I sang was "Search, Ponder and Pray". After I left the room I heard my younger son singing at the top of his lungs "Search, ponder and pay" oh it was so cute! I love my kids and I love being a mom. It is so great!

Decorating Ideas

I have been looking online for decorating ideas. I want to decorate my guest room very relaxing and luxurious. Here are some looks I like. I want to have all white bedding. I have a white down feather comforter so I want it to just look soft and comfortable. I need to find some cute nightstands, and I have a cute antique trunk to put at the foot of the bed. (it was a great buy from DI while I was in Utah!)






Another room I need to work on is my dining room. We need new chairs for our formal dining room table, so I am thinking something like this!

one year ago.....

So, I thought about this post last night, but I was too tired to do it. Yesterday, August7th, marked one year since we left good old North Carolina. I can't believe it has been a whole year. It seemed to drag on as my husband was in training, but now it seems it just flew by! We are now settled, and I am so happy because our furniture will be here Tuesday!! So I thought I would post some photos of us over the last year since Joe started OCS and all that. We have been in Utah, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, and now California!! Crazy huh?? And now that I realized how many photos I uploaded, I should have just made a slide show. oh well!

Back to School

I am so excited because I just registered for classes today. Classes start on Monday!! I also registered Jonathan for preschool, and we are excited about that! There is not a big selection of classes out here in the middle of the desert, and most of the basics they offer I've already done. So This fall I am taking Intro to Business(thats what I want to major in), Principles of macro-economics, and a class called Child health, safety & Nutrition. I am excited!!

I know I joke about living in the desert, but I really do! The definition of desert is a region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all. Just thought I would share that.

Today I am Thankful for....

A home to live in,
My husband who works hard for his family,
Children who keep me busy and give me the best hugs ever,

The Gospel,
Good Health,
The Heat (yes, I said that!)
The Scriptures,
and Friends.

Home, Sweet Home

Well, we moved into our home about a week ago and we love it!! There is so much space! We have a great back yard that the kids can play in, and playgrounds all around us! We are really looking forward to the next few years here. We love our branch. Everyone is so nice and we feel right at home. A year ago, before all of the training, Joe promised to buy me a new washer and dryer when we got here, because we didn't have our own, and also for going through this CRAZY year of training! So we saved up the money, and we just bought them last week! I love them!!! They are steam appliances so I can wash bedding and everything at such a high temperature that all the dust mites and allergens are killed. Having a child with asthma and allergies, this is a great feature!! I know I am weird, but I get excited about things like that! I love doing laundry (I know, I am weird!) Now I am excited to go through the house and pick up all the dirty laundry!!Here they are!
And this is why they have child locks!!

Monday - Homemade pizzas
Tuesday - Citrus Herb Chicken
Wednesday - Steak & pasta
Thursday - Red Beans & Rice
Friday - Sub sandwiches
Saturday - Breakfast
Sunday - homemade Macaroni & Cheese

All I want for Christmas!

Ok, I have officially started Christmas shopping!! I love it! So, Joe asked what I wanted for Christmas, and I think this is what I want!! It is a Rachael Ray pan set! I love it!