New Year, New Recipes! -Baked Southwest Egg Rolls

OK, YUM!!!! I got ambitious on Sunday and decided to try another recipe. That makes two new recipes last week. I'm REALLY liking this New Year's goal!  Anyway it was DELICIOUS!

Just look at the picture......

I thought the first new recipe was delicious but this was fabulous! I highly recommend it! Lance loved it so much he kept sneaking bites as I cooked it.

Here's the link to the recipe: http://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com/2012/09/southwestern-egg-rolls/

The only thing I did different with it was add a bit more jalapeno's and bit more spinach. Also, I didn't have any frozen corn on hand so I just used canned corn and it was still perfect!

I made some Spanish rice to go along with it. By making, I really mean I opened up a box of Rice-A-Roni. :)  I really need to get some of the ladies in the Spanish branch to teach me how to make it homemade.

Next time I'm going to get even more ambitious and make the cilantro ranch dressing to dip them in. I used plain old ranch and it was still excellent. Lance went straight for the Chalula (did i mention he likes spicy foods).

Once again, I HIGHLY recommend it! 

Crock-Pot Brown Sugar and Garlic Chicken

For my "family" New Year's goal I decided I am going to try at least one new recipe each week. Hopefully these will be healthy but the main purpose is to get me out of my habit of cooking the same things over, and over again.

I love cooking and by doing this it will help me expand my cooking abilities and make it easier to decide what we are having for dinner because I will have much more options other than BBQ Chicken.

I had a few people ask me if I will post the recipes I try and let them know if they are good or not so that they can expand their recipes as well.

So to start things off, tonight's dinner was Crock-Pot Brown Sugar and Garlic chicken served over rice.

It was delicious! To get the recipe you can go here: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/07/slow-cooker-garlic-and-brown-sugar.html

I used white distilled vinegar and I added about a teaspoon of red pepper flakes in with the sauce while it cooked as well as sprinkled it on top after. We love spicy foods so I would hold off on adding it until after if you don't like it too hot.

This will definitely go into my rotation of dinners. It was super easy and tasty. Plus who doesn't love a good crock-pot put it in and forget-it meal?

Bettering Myself in 2013!

I love the new year. I love the feeling of starting fresh. I get excited knowing I have another full year ahead of me to spend time with my family and friends, better myself, and hopefully make a difference in the world somewhere (no matter how miniscule).

I have never been the one to make goals. The last time I made new year goal's was in elementary school when the whole class took time to write down and decorate a colorful display of our goals for that year. 

I wasn't a fan of new year goal's because I figured I'd be really good at them for the first couple months weeks and then slowly give up on them. So what was the point?

However so much has changed this past year that has made me want to set goals to better myself, my family, and others around me.

Last January we were asked to serve in a Spanish Branch here in Cleveland. It has honestly been one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do in my life. I am in the Relief Society presidency and have had to get out of my comfort zone. Not only is it hard to get out of my comfort zone, but I hardly speak a lick of Spanish. I love serving the branch, I love the members, I love the culture, I love knowing that the gospel is the same in every language even if I don't understand. :)  I have realized my love of serving and helping others.

We were blessed with our beautiful daughter in August. Haylee magnified the importance of family ten-fold. I LOVE being a mom and everything that comes with it. The lack of sleep, dirty diapers, spit-up in the mouth (another story for later), mounds of laundry, I wouldn't change a thing. This is cliche but I feel like I have found my calling in life. I want to better myself in every way so that I can make sure that I am able to raise and teach her to the best of my ability.

I know there are many other events but these two have had the biggest impact on me and the way I live my life.

Because of all the changes I decided I would make goals for this year. As I was thinking about what they would be, I realized I didn't want them all just for me. I wanted to have them help me make a difference.  One goal for me, One for my family, and One to help others.

-Goal for me: To be healthier. Both physically and mentally. This includes eating healthier and exercising on a regular basis. I don't just want to be physically healthy but mentally as well. There are many things to do to help me become more mentally healthy but one that I need to work on this year is to Be more positive.

-Goal for my family: Try a new recipe (healthy) at least once a week.  I love cooking, but I get into a habit of making the exact same recipes over and over. I want to give my family a variety of different and healthy meals. Not only will this benefit them but help me expand my cooking abilities.

-Goal for someone else: Index 10,000 names. Out here in our Cleveland our Stake is making a big push to get everyone to index names for the family history sites. If you don't know what indexing is, its a process of taking old handwritten documents such as census, death certificates, etc and converting it into an electronic file that is searchable. This allows people (LDS or Non-LDS) to search for their family members and hopefully learn more about the, and do genealogy work. I have LOVED doing it so far. For more information on how to do it or to sign up and get started visit: http://indexing.familysearch.org/ 

If I remember correctly from elementary school I have completed the first couple steps in making successful goals: 1) Create reachable goals, 2) Write them down, 3) Tell them to someone. 

Hopefully I will reach them, maybe I should come up with some sort of reward for completing them?? 

I am excited for this new year, I'm excited to see what adventures and new changes it  may bring.

A quick post because I'm feeling grateful

Today I'm feeling extremely grateful.

I'm grateful for family. I'm blessed with an amazing husband and a beautiful daughter who I get to spend eternity with.

I'm grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am grateful that I get to stay at home with my little girl and watch her grow.

I'm grateful for Lance and his job. He works so hard for us.

I'm grateful for our friends. We are blessed with AMAZING friends out here in Cleveland that seriously are some of the best we have ever had. They are our second family and make being so far away bearable.

I love this time of year. It makes me remember all the blessings I have in my life and reminds me to appreciate them more.

Getting to know Haylee

To say we are absolutely head over heels in love with this little girl is a complete understatement. It's hard to believe that Miss Haylee will be 3 months on Friday. Time is going by way to fast. We love being her parents and she brings so much joy into our lives. She is seriously the best baby we could have ever dreamed of. She has us laughing and absolutely giddy at her constantly.

We really couldn't be happier.

Here is a few things about Haylee:
~She loves standing up
~She smiles at everything and anything
~She is seriously the happiest baby ever!
~She giggles all the time
~She is chunky and tall (85th percentile in weight and 95th percentile in height)
~She loves eating
~She loves cuddling
~She is perfectly content with sitting on dads lap watching football for hours
~She constantly "talks" to you
~She has the most edible chunky cheeks on earth
~She has an obsession with eating her own and our hands
~She has the cutest lip curl when she gets sad
~She hates to have her arms swaddled
~She loves sucking on noses/cheeks
~She has so many expressions
~She is extremely easy to soothe
~She is a HUGE Utah state fan
~Her morning grins when she wakes up are the best way to start any day 
~Her eyes are still as blue as ever


Here are some Month-to-month pictures for her first and second month. We are a little late posting these. We will have a new one by next weekend!

Oh and one more pic that we are extremely proud of....
START 'EM YOUNG!

Photoshoot!

Our friend Jessica is Amazing! She came over the other night and we transformed my living room into a photo studio. We had so much fun!!! Our friends Lindsey and Orlando came over as well and Jess took some of their adorable boy Luc. It was an amazing night! Here are my favorites...

The First Month

I really need to find some time to blog at least once a week. So many things are happening with this little girl and she is changing so much!

Being parents is absolutely the funnest, hardest, most emotional exhausting, but greatest thing in this world! We are having so much fun and are completely obsessed with this little one.

It is crazy how fast she is growing up. She is starting to smile more, make little noises, and her personality is starting to show.

Here's some pics of the first month:

Taking her home

First week home

She has the cutest sleeping positions

Saying Goodbye to Grandpa Duncan and Aunt Steffy

Her favorite sleeping spot.

Happy girl

Getting so big!

First full day at church.

We are having so much fun! We took her to her first Indians Game the other night, The Indians lost but we still had so much fun! I'll post pictures later.