Homemaker

In high school one of my fellow classmates was trying to frost cupcakes for our class party. She was really struggling and they looked extremely sloppy. I saw she needed some assistance so I stepped in and in no time I had perfectly frosted cupcakes. Several of my classmates stood watching me in amazement. They were amazed how quickly I frosted them. All of a sudden I was being told that I was going to be such a little Mormon mini van driving, homemaking soccer mom one day. To them they were teasing me, to me it was the compliment of my life.

All I've wanted to be in life is a stay at home wife and mother. I am perfectly fine with the idea that I will probably drive a mini-van around taking kids to their various activities. I am perfectly fine with staying home doing the laundry and working on the little mending sewing projects that need to be done. I am perfectly fine with tending to a flower garden and preparing a scrumptious meal for my husband and children each day. It's what I was meant to do in life. And I am excited about it! But don't worry guys, I am definitely graduating with my BS in a year.

My sister's got it down!

But of course, all the home making skills don't always come naturally. So I've been practicing. Today was a big step in my practice. Today I made (successfully) my first Crock Pot slow cooker Roast! I woke up and right away put on my apron and started cooking. I seared the meat and potatoes then put it all in the crock pot. All day I spied on it. Spence and I went to campus for a while and when we got home the apartment smelled SO GOOD! We were so excited to eat it!

When it was ready it was so juicy and tender. All the potatoes and vegetables were cooked perfectly! I was so proud of myself. And Spence was pretty delighted as well :)

My Grandma Gulliver made pot roast every Sunday for family dinner. I want to be just like my Grandma. I want to be that traditional house wife. (Ok, maybe not EVERY Sunday...but once in a while would be great!)

Spence set the table for me. Doesn't it look nice?

This picture doesn't do it justice!

Slow-Cooked Pot Roast

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 beef brisket (3-4 lbs) ... (I used the cheaper chuck roast and it was just as good)
1 tablespoon garlic powder, divided
1 tablespoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon black pepper, divided
1 teaspoon paprika, divided ... (We didn't have paprika, so I used chili powder)
5-6 new potatoes, cut into quarters
4-5 medium onions, sliced ... (I was afraid to use that many onions, so I only used 2)
1 pound baby carrots
1 can beef broth ... (We didn't have beef broth, only chicken broth, and it was tasty)

1. Heat oil on high in 4 1/2 quart crock pot slow cooker. Brown brisket on all sides. Transfer brisket to plate. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and 1/2 teaspoons paprika; set aside.

2. Season potatoes with remaining seasoning. Add potatoes and onions to crock pot slow cooker. Cook on HIGH stirring occasionally, until browned.

3. Return brisket to crock pot slow cooker. Add carrots and broth. Cover; cook on HIGH 4-5 hours or on LOW 8-10 hours or until beef is tender.

Free throws...30% accuracy

When Spence and I were dating we had a bonfire with some friends and then ended the night with a friendly game of Knock Out Basketball. Let's just say, it wasn't my proudest moment ever. I actually was pretty horrible!

In fact, all my life I've been pretty decent at most sports, EXCEPT basketball. My height might have something to do with it, but it's just really sad. I remember playing in Jr. High trying my hardest to make a basket with my granny shots. Then I would get talked into going to church ball with the girls at church and totally humiliate myself. I was constantly being called out for traveling or double dribbling. The sad part is, I didn't know you weren't allowed to double dribble until recently (pathetic, I know), so I never understood why I was being punished in church ball because I had no clue what I was doing wrong! ugh.

So, once we got married, Spence was determined to work on my basketball shot. As of right now, my free throw shot is still at 30%, but I am no longer shooting it completely incorrectly. We've been going to play basketball at the gym almost every day since we've been out of school. I have to admit its been really fun. And the best news is that I won PIG tonight! Don't tell Spence I'm telling you. After a fun game of PIG Spence decided it was time to work on my stance. I usually thrust the ball forward with a girly kick behind with one leg. Not so tough looking I know. So I am now making shots with my legs staying close together.

HAHA...oh boy its been fun trying to get me to not completely embarrass myself or Spence when playing basketball. Who knows, maybe I'll become so good that I'll go back to church ball and show them what I'm made of!

One Year Anniversary

After a wonderful Gulliver Family Reunion in Pasco, WA Spence and I decided to head over to Portland for an Anniversary celebration weekend.

We stayed at a nice Red Lion Hotel on the Columbia River in Vancouver, WA. (We went to Vancouver, Canada on our honeymoon, so it was fun to be in a different Vancouver for our one year Anniversary). The weekend was spent at Cannon Beach, the Portland Rose Gardens, waterfalls, downtown Portland, great food, and tons of fun.

We can't believe it has been a year since we were married! It has been a great year. We are so blessed to have each other. We love each other so much and always have a great time with one another. We're so excited to celebrate many many more years of marriage!

On the way to Portland, we wanted to stop by Multnoma Falls, but we found this waterfall first. It is known as Horsetail Falls.

Horsetail Falls

Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach...Oregon Coast

Hydrangeas have always been my favorite flower. When we were dating, there was five months we were apart from each other. One day I got hydrangeas in the mail from Spence. I loved it! We also had hydrangeas at our wedding of course. So I had to take a picture of some I found at Cannon beach.

This mango smoothie tasted like you were actually eating a fresh ripe mango. YUM!

This is our delicious Thai food dinner at Pok Pok. One of our favorite shows is Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network. Spence surprised me and found this restaurant that was on the show. It's extra special because Thai food is one of my favorites and we had it on our honeymoon, which was Spence's first time having Thai food. So fun!

Portland Saturday Market.
This was a very fun farmer's market to walk around. We were starving and found some yummy Lebanese food to eat. I had a garlic chicken pocket sandwich and Spence had steak. It was great!

This is at the lovely Rose Gardens. As soon as we walked up to the garden, you could smell the rose perfume in the air.

Happy One Year Anniversary to us!

A tree house. Literally.

Gotta love Dogs

Ultimate Dog Tease

Midnight Hunting

Yesterday morning I woke up and hopped in the shower. As I pulled over the shower curtain, a HUGE wolf spider fell down into the bottom of the bathtub right next to my feet. I screamed. I did. And I jumped right back out of the shower. I was very disturbed, and after Spence was brave enough to dispose of it (down the drain) I had to use all my courage to continue with my shower.

This summer, we have found several LARGE spiders in our little apartment. But that's not all we've found. Yesterday alone we found three GIANT spiders, two big black beetles and several flies. What is going on? Do these critters feel it necessary to pick our home as their home? I do not like it!

So, after finding our second large spider of the day around midnight, we decided it was vitally important to go on a spider hunt so we could sleep soundly all night. So after much deliberation, Spence agreed to do the hunting after putting on long sleeves and shoes...don't forget the gloves. And the handy dandy flashlight.

So, the hunt was on. We found one spider, a beetle, and a few dead flies laying around.

We looked high and low, in and out, all around our apartment until we felt the coast was clear of spiders. We told ourselves that what we didn't know won't hurt us, so we went to bed.

That night I had nightmares about spiders. I woke up several times during the night thinking I could see a giant spider on the ceiling or felt one on my leg. It was a long night.


Now, some of you might say, "Come on guys, it's just a few little bugs." No, no. We're talking Wolf spiders bigger than quarters! With thick legs that can move SO fast. YIKES!

See what I mean!

Back in the day

I was looking through pictures on the computer and found some of Spence and I as little kids. Isn't fun to think back to when you were a kid and how simple life was. 

We loved going to school and the smallest things were the biggest deal to us. Take pencil boxes for instance. Do you remember "organizing" your pencil box practically every hour of school? I sure do. We would all run outside and try to get to the Four Square spot the fastest. We would walk home from school eat a snack and then do homework for about an hour then have free time to play outside or read a book. Once school was out for the year, we didn't have to find jobs or do summer HW. We were free! We would sell lemonade on the corner. We would play capture the flag at night. We had wild imaginations and trusted everyone and everything. We never doubted Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny (until we were older). We thought knock-knock jokes were the greatest thing ever, and you were cool if you could do patti-cake routines super fast. We played with yo-yo's and hacky sacs. We had scraps on our knees and grass stains on our jeans. We never had to worry about make-up or doing our hair. Life was good! 

Why can't we all be as carefree as kids? Why do we have to worry about so much now? Oh ya, because we're adults and we have responsibilities.

But as much as I loved being a kid and love remembering all the fun things I did growing up. I'm glad to be an adult; married, getting my BS degree and working. I have accomplished so much in my life and there's so much more ahead of me.

And besides, even though we're responsible adults now, there's always time to have a little kid fun from time to time. While at Walmart today, Spence and I bought a huge bottle of bubbles for 50 cents and enjoyed blowing the biggest bubbles outside in the sunshine. Simple pleasures in life.

And so it begins...

I have to admit that I am a blog follower. I love reading about my friend's little adventures in life and I love getting new recipes and ideas from people I admire. The only problem is...I did all that blog following without a blog of my own.

So, I gave in and created this little blog. This blog won't be anything extraordinary or remarkable. But it will represent who Spence and I are, what we like, and what we like to do.

So...

LET THE BLOGGING BEGIN!

P.S. Wish me luck, I've never been good at keeping a written journal. But I want to be!