Like Gourmet...

The other night Brandon and I went out on a limb and tried mango salsa salmon. We were very surprised with the way it turned out and it looked oh so gourmet so we thought we would take a picture and enter it into a cookbook or magazine. Just Kidding. Actually, we or rather I just wanted to blog it.

Anyways, Brandon is not much a fan of salmon and I have been trying to come up with clever ways to make the salmon taste yummier so he can enjoy the healthy meal. Well, I thought we should try the mango salsa salmon. So we went to Costco in search of the big tub of mango salsa. We looked and looked and looked around that huge warehouse and had no luck. As usual, when you finally get up the nerve to buy the bulk form of Costco product they don't have it anymore. I had already pulled out the salmon to defrost so there was no turning back now. My sister assured me that homemade mango salsa was not that hard. I still didn't want to go there. I kept up a determined search to find mango salsa. Well, did you know that mango salsa does not exist in the grocery store. After quite a bit of searching and having no luck buying already prepared mango salsa we decided to make our very own homemade. It turned out delicious and guess what, it wasn't even really that hard. Easier than trying to track down the already prepared kind from the store, anyway. Plus, homemade probably tastes a whole lot better. Brandon did enjoy the meal even though it was salmon. So it looks like homemade mango salsa did the trick!

Two Thumbs Up!!

Forever Strong is a must see! Last night, I took the Beehive Class to see the sneak peak at the Scera Theater. The producer is from Utah County and they are really trying to build the publicity for this movie. It will hit theaters in September 2008. (Kind of a bummer that we have to wait that long...it will be worth it though. This film is fabulous.)

Forever Strong is about a troubled teen who loves to play Rugby and has to learn some of life's most valuable lessons the hard way. If you liked Remember the Titans even just a little bit, then you will love this movie. It is inspiring and motivating! I have always loved the inspirational sports films; I really think they are classics:). Anyways, when I first realized what we were watching I was very skeptical. I honestly thought, oh boy, another one of these movies. I was very wrong. Forever Strong is a quality, entertaining, and touching movie. The acting is not cheesy and there are no dumb scenes. Plus, it is family friendly which is always a bonus!

Another interesting thing is that the church is not mentioned at all during the movie, however, you can still kind of get a feel that the characters were members of the church. It is all about an individual's countenance. For more information on this click here. This movie has my two thumbs up!! I recommend it to everyone. Being the cheap person I am, I even recommend watching it in the real theaters and paying the outrageous price. For more information on Forever Strong click here.

My Sweet Husband is soooo CUTE!

I came down with this really nasty sore throat on my birthday. By the next day it was a full blown cold. We went to Moab anyways to celebrate school ending (for Brandon) and my birthday. Red rock country was a blast despite being sick. Since our weekend getaway, I have either worked or had school everyday. Plus, girls camp is around the corner so I have been having to hit that strong as well. Being this on the go hasn't really let me get any better from the nasty cold that still lingers. Last night I went to bed early for work and suddenly woke up at 1AM with a hacking hacking cough. I couldn't get it to stop with anything and it was getting so bad that I almost threw up. Well, my sweet husband rushes to my rescue. He insists on going to the store to buy me some cough medicine and cough drops so I can get through the night. He even suggests that I call in sick to work, however, I informed him that it was too late and I was just gonna have to tough it. So in the middle of the night, my bestest friend in the whole wide world drove to rite aid and bought me some medicine. I took some and slept soundly the rest of the night. The best part is that he even washed out the teaspoon cup and provided me with water to help get the icky taste out of my mouth. The next day I was fairly good at work because every hour I sucked on one of the cough drops he got me. Brandon, you are the greatest and the most handsome nurse by far!

At the Request of the Great Ginger...

I will blog my fantastic homemade chili recipe. This chili will win at whatever chili cookout contest you enter into. It is a sure winner! You can eat this stuff plain, in a bread bowl, or even on top of scones and attempt a Navajo Taco. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef. drained
• 1/2 onion. chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper. chopped (you can add other veggies...whatever you like)
• 2 cans (small) condensed tomato soup
• 1 can (large) chili beans
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4- 1/2 tsp chili powder
• to taste...add ketchup to counteract the chili powder
• last but not least: salt and peppa...as always!

Combine all of the ingredients in a large pot and cook on med-low for however long you can stand to wait to eat. The key is the longer it cooks then the better it'll taste. Make sure to stir often so it doesn't burn the bottom of your pot.

And The Day Came!

I love guitar hero, especially when I am good. After weeks and weeks of practicing this game, I beat Brandon. The picture is my proof. I was player one, who rocks! Yes, I conquered with authority cuz I not only did well I did superb. I had a 449 note streak. I was well on my way to a perfect game, but then that little controller's battery started to die so it made me mess up. Just kidding! Somewhere a long the line, I admit, I just messed up. I was still happy with a 99% though. Now that I am experienced in the medium level I am going to start conquering the hard level. Expert may still be a ways out.

My SymMeTRiCaL FetTiSh

I absolutely love this game. I think it has become my all time favorite board game (if that is what you call these kinds of games). The other night, Brandon and I played to see if we could get all of our pieces on the board. It required a lot of strategy and a lot of symmetry. After we were through playing, I had so much symmetry in my head that I was going crazy and everything around the house had to be even or rather, symmetrical. Here is what it looked like...



...such a masterpiece. We were so proud of ourselves. Our next goal is to get all the pieces on the board and have zero white space between pieces. We think it's gonna be a hard one. Anyways, more about bLoKUs. It is a Worldwide Award Winner! Plus, Blokus is brain-building because it has educational insights. It is a very, very fun game for the whole family. Warning: Only play with Brandon after you have prepared yourself to lose. It must be all his strategy video games that made him...oh...so very good!

To run, or not to run...

...the St. George Marathon. That has been the dilemma over the last week. You see, it is starting to get extremely gorgeous outside and my running groove is really getting strong. Every year that I run the marathon I tell myself never again. This is it. My marathon days are over and I will stick with shorter races. However, I keep finding myself going back. I don't think I can ever give up this great sport. The pounding on the asphalt, the sweat trickling everywhere, the heavy breathing, it's all just so irresistible! Actually, my goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I have done it twice before but never went to Boston because the race is always during finals week. Well folks, this coming year I have decided that finals or no finals I am just going to run it. (Disclaimer: The FNP program doesn't really have any finals during that week, therefore, I will be okay!) As for the picture, I love that little demotivater. My friend gave it to me a few years ago and I thought it was hilarious.