more evidence of my addiction to garage sales

 dining table and chairs: $7

centerpiece: $3

set of 4 formal dining chairs: $18

4 framed mirrors: $1

2 3D shelves: $1

faith sign: $1 (bought a brand new item from Deseret Book 

at a garage sale for $1, then returned it for store credit)

3 Willow Tree figurines: $1

temple painting: $16 (90% off at Deseret Book)

 frame: $0.50

cooking utensil holder: $0.50

garland: free as a prize at a girls' night at Roberts Crafts

fruit basket: $0.50

clock: $1

plaque: $2

twig bunch: $0.25

wreath: free at a Roberts Crafts girls' night out event

 Ikea coffee table: $5

centerpiece: $1.50

lamp: free

plant: $1.50
4 pillows: $1 (purchased from my aunt, so it's not gross!)

set of 5 vases (3 pictured elsewhere): $10

table: $7

3 white vases: $1.50

2 candles: $1

black scripture plaque: free at a Seagull Book girls' night out event

mirror shelf: $3

2 wall candles: $1

set of 5 vases (2 pictured elsewhere): $10

frame above the door: $2

shelf on the wall:$0.50

frame on the shelf: wreath: free at a Roberts Crafts girls' night out event

picture in the frame: $1 (bought a brand new item from Deseret Book 

at a garage sale for $1, then returned it for store credit)

shelf: $3 (It folds out to be a CD holder with shelves inside, but it looks so much cooler this way!)

quarter couture

 shirt: garage sale, $0.50

belt: Sexy Modest boutique, $4.00 after coupon 

 earrings: Provo boutique, FREE after women's expo certificate

skirt: garage sale, $0.50

 earrings: Provo boutique, FREE after women's expo certificate

 shirt: clearance at women's expo, $5.00

skirt: garage sale, $0.50

belt: clearance at Charlotte Russe, $2.00

giraffe print shoes: garage sale, $1.00

 dress: garage sale, $0.75

earrings: women's expo, FREE for giving them my email address

necklace, ring, and belt: garage sale, $0.50 each

purse: garage sale, $1.00

cardigan: clearance at women's expo, $10

dress: garage sale, $0.50

belt: Sexy Modest boutique, $4.00 after coupon

earrings: women's expo, $4.00

favorite recipes

Mexican Chowder

1 lb. ground meat (we really like chicken for this recipe)
2 tbs. vegetable oil
1 envelope chili seasoning
2 2/3 cups cold water
1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes with liquid
1 (14.5-oz.) can red kidney beans with liquid
1 cup macaroni noodles
1 (16-oz.) can corn with liquid
grated cheddar cheese for topping

Brown the meat in the vegetable oil in a big pot. Add the chili mix, water, tomatoes, and beans. Bring the mixture to a boil, then add the macaroni and cook for another 10 minutes, until macaroni is tender. Add corn and heat again until the corn is warm. Serve hot, topped with cheese. Serves 4.


Oriental Honey Salmon

1/3 cup honey
3 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
4 (6-oz.) pieces salmon

In a small mixing bowl, mix all the liquid ingredients. Place the salmon pieces in a small glass baking dish, and pour about a third of the sauce over the fish. Turn each salmon piece over in the dish, so that the sauce will cover both sides. Place the dish in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

Butter the bottom of a frying pan. Cook the salmon over medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, until the meat is golden. Remove the meat from the frying pan and add the remaining cause to the pan. Cook mixture over low heat, stirring until the sauce comes to a boil. Return the salmon to the pan, heat for a few more minutes, and then serve immediately. Serves 4.

memory

When I was young, my family and I made up a little game we would play on the way to church when we lived in Oregon. Just as we were turning into the church's parking lot, we would all chant  "How many Mormons in a row?" and then count to see how many cars in a row were also turning into the church. 

This game was irrelevant in Utah, where almost everyone was Mormon and half of the ward walked to church. But now that we live in California, I always peek in the rear-view mirror to make a quick count.

manicures

I 

love

doing my nails.

Every once in a while, I'll try to do a one-color manicure, but by day two, I get antsy and just HAVE to add a little something extra. I get so excited when it's time to design something new!

more of what it's like in Modesto

People jaywalk all the time everywhere.

Collecting cans for their deposits is a part-time job for a lot of people.

There are ice-cream trucks and garage sales in January.

the reality of over-eating

I love ice cream.

So when I eat it, I naturally want to eat a lot of it. And then my stomach inevitably aches. While enduring these aches, I persuade myself to not scoop so much next time, and I agree with myself whole-heartedly every time.

But then the next time, as I lovingly pack scoop after scoop of ice cream into my mug, I begin to doubt my conviction that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. How could this delicious treat hold any malicious intent towards my stomach? Why shouldn't I add one more scoop to this collection of yumminess? Wouldn't that make it even yummier?

No. It's that one extra scoop that damns me.

What a weakling I am! How long will it take for me to learn my lesson?!

what it's like in Modesto

things I like:

our new friends (all two of them)

teaching Sunday School to the 12- and 13-year-olds (they are super fun and none of them are punks)

eating out on the company a lot (three times a week, usually)

Seth's company car (with company gas)

having carpet (it's more cozy)

things I don't like:

that Little Caesar's isn't quite as delicious (and that it's $5.99, not $5)

being one of only two couples in our ward without kids (as opposed to, like, ten in our old ward)

people littering a lot (they just throw stuff out of their car windows, and then when I stare at them wide-eyed and shake my head at them, they throw more)

living in an apartment (the novelty has worn off)

our neighbors downstairs yelling at each other all. the. time. (even the kids)

how we ended up moving to Modesto

April 2012: 

Seth's former pest control boss, Brad, calls Seth to offer us positions with the solar company he left pest control for. The jobs are in Boston. We kind of think about it for a day, but tell him no, because we really don't want to move across the country.

July 2012:

We go to California for a friend's wedding and meet up with Brad and his family for dinner while we're there. This time, Brad offers Seth a sales position and me a lead generation position at their office in California. We decide again not to accept his offer, since we had the exact same positions at home in Orem with another company.

Friday, November 2, 2012:

Brad calls again. He would like me to be a lead generator and Seth to be the sales team manager of California. Seth would have a salary with benefits plus overrides from the sales people in his office. We tell him this is actually something we'll think about.

Saturday and Sunday, November 3 and 4, 2012:

We talk to our parents. And siblings. And friends. And each other. Seth and I are both surprised how excited I am at the idea of moving to Modesto. I'm usually reluctant to try new things.

Monday, November 5, 2012:

Brad says they need to fill the position right away, and they really want Seth. Brad and Seth negotiate the salary. We tell him we'll give him an answer in the morning.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012:

We're moving in 2 weeks.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012:

I start packing.

Friday, November 9, 2012:

We finally find buyers from craigslist for some big furniture items that we had had listed online for a month. Just in time.

Monday, November 11, 2012:

We mention to our neighbors across the street that we are moving, and they tell us that they're lease is ending next month. We show them our house. We find great renters. Just like that.

Wednesday, November 13, 2012:

We haven't found any amazing deals on apartments online, so we just pick one that looks good and call the office to have them email us an application. Then we check a map of Modesto to see how far it is from the office. It happens to be just down the street.

Thursday, November 14, 2012:

We realize that our dryer runs off gas, and the hookups in our apartment in Modesto are electric, so we'll have to buy new machines when we get to California. But then we talk to our new tenants and discover that their machines are electric. So we simply swap machines. Problem solved.

Sunday, November 17, 2012:

I cry a little in sacrament meeting when I get released from the primary presidency. I'm serious for just a second when I tell Seth that I'm not going.

Monday, November 18, 2012:

The nicest people from our ward come and spend so much time helping us finish packing and cleaning.

Tuesday, November 19, 2012:

Seth drives off in a 26-foot moving truck hauling a trailer with our Mazda on it. I drive off in the car we're flipping. Our best friends, the Wests, drive off in their own car to join us on our trip. (See why they're our best friends?) We all drive behind Seth, even when he can only go 40 mph uphill. We stay the night in Reno.

Wednesday, November 20, 2012:

We arrive at our new home. Once everything is inside, I stand inside the empty moving truck and cry, thinking What am I doing here? I want my house back!

Thursday, November 21, 2012

The four of us go to see Lincoln and have Thanksgiving dinner at Hometown Buffet.

Friday, November 22, 2012

The boys are sick of unpacking, but Ari and I have an absolute blast decorating the entire apartment. It's so weird to see our stuff in different places in the apartment. Stuff that used to be in the living room is now in the dining room. Stuff that used to be in the dining room is now in our bedroom. We say goodbye to the Wests and feel lonely already. But at least we have a really cute apartment.

one time at the DMV

I had been waiting for 2 hours to register my car in California, and I started talking with the woman waiting next to me. We talked about movies and books and grumbled about how long the lines were. As the numbers being called got higher and higher, closer to ours, we were getting ridiculously excited, letting out audible squeals with each number called. When my number was finally called, the enthusiasm burst out of me. I jumped up, turned around to the many people seated behind me still awaiting their turn, and exclaimed,

"I did it! And you all can, too!"

Everyone laughed and probably thought I was an idiot, of course. At least it made a good blog post.

books

green light

Confession: this is the first non-fiction book I have read for pleasure. I finally learned that non-fiction isn't boring if it's about something fun. This book was written so conversationally, that Elizabeth Gilbert is now one of my girlfriends. And I want to do yoga. Also, don't judge a book by its movie.

 

yellow light

Sometimes even if non-fiction is about something cool, it's still a little boring. But not boring enough that I couldn't get through three-fourths of it. But boring enough that I didn't finish it. I have mixed feelings about this book.

 

green light

 

I feel smarter for having read three non-fiction books in the last 6 months. This one was very interesting. I plan to read more by this author.

green light

 

This series is The Boxcar Children of young adult fiction. I've sold you, haven't I?

 

green light

I've only gotten halfway through this book, but that is 250 pages, and I didn't want to have to wait until I was all the way done to write about it. So many reasons to love him even more.

why we didn't make new year's resolutions last year

On January 1, 2012, Seth and I sat on the couch with a notebook to record our goals for the new year.

"But first," I explained to him, "we need to pick a theme, a motif. We need to have a word or short phrase that summarizes what we want to do or be this year. And it has to be clever. That's what all my blogging friends are doing."

Seth humored his new bride on our first New Year's Day together. We ruminated, threw some ideas around, and eventually got bored and turned on The Office. And went through 2012 without official resolutions.

Clearly, the idea of an all-encompassing word to guide our progress throughout the year isn't our thing. This year, we'll be skipping that step.