Food.

In general, I would say that I am a fairly good cook. I can follow a recipe with confidence that it will turn out right and I can invite people over for dinner with the knowledge that I will most likely be able to prepare something that they will enjoy. I teach high school students how to cook, for goodness sake, I can't be too terrible.

picture from here.

But sometimes it all falls to pieces. Sometimes I will try to make a complicated recipe without setting aside enough time, or enough patience, and end up with mush. Sometimes I make recipes with ingredients that neither David nor I like, and hope that "this time" we will miraculously like it. (Mustard Powder and Cayenne Pepper are the two main culprits here.) But sometimes, I make a tried and true recipe and something completely unexpected happens. For example, I was making my sister-in-law, Wendy, and her family dinner because poor Daniel had to have surgery on his leg from a "big plastic ball on the trampoline" accident. Daniel had requested something with rice - so I decided on one of my favorite easy-to-please recipes: a Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole. Everything was going along splendidly until it was time to take the casserole out and I found that the rice wasn't done. That sucker baked an hour longer than it was supposed to and the rice still wasn't completely done. I took it over to the Rencher home anyway - and just hoped for the best. All the while, I was utterly baffled at the undercooked rice. I still don't get it.

However, like I said, I am a fairly good cook. I like to try new recipes, but I also love our tried and true family favorites. The hardest part about cooking for me is not the cooking itself - but it is the coming up with what to cook. You may remember this post about our "Ten-Day Forecast".  This is a lifesaver for me. Every weekend we sit down and plan out our meals from Monday to the following Wednesday. It gives us a good meal structure - and we save money when we go to the store. (If I go to the store without a list and meals in mind - then I end up buying things that I forget to use before they go bad.) We have been using our ten-day forecast for a while now, and we absolutely love it. But it has still been difficult to come up with meals to fill our meal plan with. We have several cookbooks with our favorite recipes buried within, David has a file folder of his favorite recipes, and I am constantly finding good recipes that I want to try online. Finally we came up with a solution to this problem, and I am so excited about it!

David and I started a recipe file blog as a way to file all of our favorite recipes. We have been going for several months now, and are loving how well it works for us. This way we are able to have all of our favorite recipes together in an easy-to-search manner. If we feel like eating rice for dinner, we can just search for any recipe containing rice - instead of searching our millions of cookbooks for "that one rice dish that we ate a couple of months ago." I haven't posted about it, because it really is more for us than for anyone else. I'm not really a "foodie" and don't want to compete with all of the other amazing food blogs out there. However, you are free to check it out if you would like: www.thepeadenkitchen.blogspot.com.

Pretty much nothing I make (or post) is my own creation. I am a master at finding great recipes online to feed my David. I just re-post them (giving credit where credit is due) on my kitchen file so that I can keep track of all of the amazing recipes that I find. My top two favorite recipe hunting spots are Howe to Cook and Our Best Bites.  The ladies over at these websites are truly talented - and they always post great recipes that are realistic and delicious. I honestly think that we would starve (or go back to eating pasta every night of the week) without them. I'll all about recipes that have been tested, and found successful, by others. So, this is where you come in. Do you have a favorite recipe that is simple and delicious? If so, please share! I would love to get some new ideas to put into our dinner rotation - especially good summer dishes. However, any family favorite would be welcome.

So.. go ahead... don't be shy. What is your favorite thing to make for dinner?

Dear Netflix,

Many of you may have heard the news that Netflix is raising their rates. Although this news doesn't really come as a shock to me, it certainly is unwelcome.  There is a part of me that wants to join the 77,000 people who have commented on Netflix's facebook page swearing that they will discontinue their service. I definitely believe in the "dollar vote" and will pay for something simply to support a company - or not pay for something, even if I want it, to make a statement to a company I don't like. I'm kind of an extremist that way. However, the big question is: "Is it worth it?" 

For those of you who aren't sure what is going on, and you do care, you can check out the price restructuring here. But basically, to get the same services we are getting now - prices will increase by 60%. I think that Netflix is trying to push it's customers away from DVD's and trying to focus them on streaming movies instead. However, it is probably going to push us the other way - and all because of this baby. (Which we totally recommend by the way.) 

With our Clear Play, we are able to watch whatever we want without fear of something inappropriate in the movie. (This is a great example of our dollar vote, we pay for this service every month, because we think it is important for them to stay in business.) Unfortunately, you have to have a DVD in order to use clear play. It won't work on streaming videos.

As much as we love to watch movies together on our clear play - it will be a sad day in the Peaden Home if we are no longer able to stream TV shows. It's nice to be able to watch a little show while I am designing wedding announcements, or working on lesson plans. Some of my favorite TV shows that Netflix has so kindly provided for our/my entertainment (in no particular order): 

*sigh* Such great entertainment -  I am really torn. Sixteen dollars a month just might be worth it! (Especially because we don't have TV, right?)

However, here is my question for you. Do any of you have any other websites or places you like to rent/stream movies that might be a good alternative to Netflix? Any good experiences with Hulu (I've never really used it, i've just heard about it.) Any comments would be helpful! Thanks.

To conclude, I will join the mass of Facebook/Twitter statuses by writing my own "Dear Netflix" letter.

Dear Netflix, 

I think that we need to take a break. We had such a good thing going - but now things are changing. (Like, 60% rate increase type changing.) I need to start looking into my other options. I know we used to scoff at Redbox and Blockbuster, but I can't be tied down to you right now. We have been through a lot together, and I will treasure that time. You gave me Psych, and Lois, and Murder She Wrote (not to mention the many movies you have sent directly to my mailbox, week after week). I love to think back to the excitement of the transition between the casual relationship with my 13" Macbook screen to the much more serious relationship with my 24" television set. You kept me company (and helped me keep my sanity) as I stayed at my school until 7 or 8 writing lesson plans during my first year of teaching - and I will always be grateful. 

This breakup is going to be hard for both of us. (Especially because of the 125 DVDs left in my Queue and the 65 items waiting for me to stream.) However, I think it is probably for the best. I've been so attached to you, so loyal, that I haven't really been looking for any other options. I hope that you understand.  Don't worry though, we can still be friends.

Shantel

Happy Birthday to Cal

Yesterday we celebrated the birthday of David's dad, Cal. He turned sixty, but he thinks he is still 29.  It was nice to gather around him with so many of his family members to celebrate him.

Cal is such an amazing person. He cares so much about his family and is willing to do anything for them. Some of my first memories of David's family include how welcoming Cal was to me. He is so sincere and so kind. He made me feel comfortable and welcome in his home. I love him so much and am so grateful for his example. I hope that someday I can be as good of a person as he is. 

As Sue was putting the candles on the cake (all 60), Cal was on the computer creating this sign.

The sign reads: 

Fire Marshall Notice

The fire Marshall has declared this birthday cake a

MAJOR

FIRE

HAZARD

It cannot be safely lit!!!

Too MANY Candles

After the sign didn't work, he went out to the garage and came back in with a blow torch to light the candles.

After quite the struggle, Amy finally confiscated the torch by telling him that it's against the rules to light your own candles on your birthday.

More Pictures: 

 

Happy Birthday Cal! We love you!

{the moment}

The next post in {the wedding series} is: "The moment you knew he was the one."

As I think back about our dating experiences - I can think of several times that I "knew" he was the one. I think for some people, it's like one big step. Like- going up an elevator. However, for me it was more like going up a ladder. Something would happen and I would think "this boy is amazing-he's got to be the one" and I would take one step up on the ladder. I realize that most relationships are like this - but I just wanted to explain because there were lots of times when I "knew" he was the one. I think that all of those experiences combined helped me to fall more and more in love with my David boy. Here are a few in particular:

I spent the Christmas holidays during December 2008 with the Peaden Family. It was kind of a fluke that I ended up spending so much time there - but I loved every second of it. I really liked David, but I think that this is where I really knew that he was the one for me. I loved to watch him interact with his family. Suddenly, I felt like I knew him better than I ever had before. In addition, I got to know his family better and grew to love them each so much. (Sometimes David teases me that I married him because I fell in love with his family - which is not true. But it was important to me to be with someone who loved their family and that I fit in well with their family. It just so happens that I fell in love with him AND his family during the same weekend.) After seeing David be so kind, so funny, so excited, so happy and just so perfect ... I knew that I was going to marry him.

Even though I really did love David, I wasn't quite ready to make the commitment. But one day towards the end of February... I was talking to one of my friends in my apartment about David. Actually, we weren't talking about David - we were talking about the boy that she was dating at the time - but I kept thinking about David. She said something to the effect of "If you love him, you know he loves you, you know he makes you a better person, you know he will be a great father, and you know that he will always be strong in the gospel - what else do you need to know before you know you should marry him?" It seems silly, but it hit me like a cool breeze in a stuffy room. I knew all of those things about David, but I just kept waiting for something... more. After that realization, I was free from the constraints that I had placed myself in. I had known that I wanted to marry him - I just didn't know how to take the next step. That night, after an intense Aggie Basketball game in the Spectrum and right as David was leaving for the night, I hinted that I was ready to get married. (Previously, I had been very clear about him not asking me to marry him until I told him that I was ready or else I would probably say no. I know... i'm a loser.) The look on his face was priceless. Shock, amazement, joy. I'm pretty sure he thought that I would never be ready. But that night it was so clear, it all made sense. David was everything I ever wanted - why was I waiting for something else when what I wanted was right in front of me?

Sometimes, when I look back, I think that I knew I wanted to marry David on our very first date. Sometimes, I think that I didn't really know until we were looking at each other over the alter in the temple. But ALWAYS, when I look at him, I know that I made the right choice - and those moments are the ones that I treasure most. 

Vacation Time

Oh, how I love summer. However, there is one thing I love even more than summer and that is... 

VACATION!

David and I have been vacationing for the last several days and it has been wonderful. We headed down to Saint George last weekend and spent several days enjoying the sun, the pool, and the many Saint George  attractions. We loved watching the fireworks on Monday night at the park next to the temple, loved meeting up with my cousins for lunch, and loved being able to just hang out and not have to worry about going anywhere or doing anything. I loved it. 

Unfortunately, I was a lame-o and didn't take many pictures. I didn't take pictures of the Tabernacle tour we went on, or of the 4th of July festivities/fair we went to, or all of the bridesmaid dresses that I tried on (trying to find the perfect one for my little sisters wedding.) Here are the pictures we did take:

Waiting for the sun to go down so the fireworks could start. 

The beautiful Saint George Temple on the Fourth of July. 

This is the pool where we spent much of our time. 

We were able to attend a session at the Saint George Temple. I absolutely love being inside the old pioneer temples. They are beautiful and special in a very unique way. I love the Manti Temple, the Logan Temple, the Salt Lake Temple, and now the Saint George Temple.

We went to the Visitor Center and learned all sorts of amazing things about the construction of the Saint George Temple. My favorite thing I learned is that the temple is actually made out of red sandstone with a covering of white plaster. They repaint it every several years and powerwash it every couple of weeks. It's amazing how white they can keep it amidst all the red dirt down there.

I want everyone to note how long my hair is. It's reeeeally long. Longer than my little sister Jenna's for sure.

My hair? Still long in this picture. Yes.

We went also went to a ghost town called "Silver Reef." It was awesome.

We got a bit more than we bargained for in our self proclaimed "He-be-saying" (not historian.) But the tour was fun, and it's crazy to think about all of the people that used to live in the largest town in Southern Utah that now is completely deserted. 

It was so nice to be able to take a break from life. Fortunately for me, even though we are back in Lehi - we still have a couple more days of vacation time. Last night we pulled our mattress into our front room and we have been watching Netflix pretty much non-stop today.

 

 

 

 

We live such a good life!