Famous Family

Evan and I were at the Parents house last night doing our laundry (thank goodness they live close by and are mercifully giving with their washing machine use) and I heard a scream and clapping bursst from the other room.  We all walked in to see what had happened.  As we were coming Pa Anderson said, "Mom's crying!!"  and giggled.  So they rewound the youtube video they were watching to show us what the commotion was all about.   Sara (Sister Anderson of the SLC mission) was featured in a video of President Monson speaking.  

Here is the video, Sara makes her appearance around 1:20.  Cute little sister missionary!

It's beginning to look a lot like christmas!

With only a week - ok, less than a week- until Christmas, I have decided to change our background.  We will be spirited for a little while at least.

I love the Christmas season, and this is my first Christmas on the east coast, away from my family.  I am excited for Our first Christmas together, but also sad I won't be able to see my family this holiday season.  It also means my first birthday away from home.  Anyhow, on to our Christmas-y pictures!

First, we had the Grand Illumination downtown.  We went with the Brockbanks who took our lovely picture :) It was nice to walk around and see everything all lit up, but not really worth all the hype.  However, it was also First Friday so we moved north a couple streets and went through the galleries a bit afterward where we saw some people that had decided to give a show in the median.

The following day was the ward Christmas party where Evan got to dress as Santa and terrorize the little children as they were forced to sit on his lap and have their picture taken.  I don't know what it is about people being dressed up, but I have a feeling there would have been less confused looking kids, and less tears, if Evan had been dressed as himself.

After all the kids, I got to sit on Santa's lap

Dear Santa, for Christmas I would like a kiss.

This month also held Evan's graduation.  He looked just adorable in his cap&gown.  It took a lot of arm twisting to convince him to go to the ceremony and participate.  I think he would have rather just gone out to lunch and skipped the festivities, but then I wouldn't have all of these cute pictures!

At his departmental ceremony, 5 hours after he arrived on campus

We took the opportunity for photos in front of the letters on campus, we realized that the light pole was right in the way.  Could they not have placed it a couple feet to the left?  They must have known this would be a photo op for many people, right?

For whatever reason, I can't get these to stay rotated, but if you turn your computer sideways you will see evan behind each letter.  He did a good job of looking happy about it.

Congratulations to my graduate!  Only five more years ahead of us!

Toilet Paper Roll Creations!

I honestly wouldn't have thought to try out these craft ideas.  I have a box full of tubes, saved away for some project, but I hadn't decided what yet. I figured it would be some elementary class project, bit a home decorating one.   When we were in Iowa, Heather had a garland of pumpkins strung in one of the doorways. She got the idea online she says.  They looked legit though, not at all like toilet paper rolls.  I wish this picture was visible from the front... Heather also used a reddish orange color mixed in.    

We (Heather, Abby, Ma Anderson, and I) then played around and tried to find ways to make snowflakes.  The closest I came was really complicated... it was fun though.  I looked online and found a much easier way to do it.  I think I will try this our with the kiddos at the Y tomorrow.

My next tube project will be this one.  Once I find the time and patience to glue it all together!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we made the envious 15 hour drive to Iowa to visit the first born Anderson's.  I thoroughly enjoyed playing with Sam and baby Emily.  Having Abby around was a great surprise too.  Well, not so much a surprise for me as it was for Ma Anderson, but it was fun all the same.  Usually, Abby would be in Utah, spending thanksgiving with one of her roommates.  This year however she decided to surprise her mom and fly out to Iowa.  She came out of the kitchen nonchalantly minutes after we walked in the house.  I thought for sure some complicated revealing of the surprise would come, but the simplicity worked out pretty well- there were squeals and tears!

Thursday we had our Thanksgiving dinner which was delicious and then most went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1, Mom and Sam went to Tangled (movies are a tradition in the Anderson family on Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Friday the ladies all went to Hobby Lobby (Ma Anderson's favorite store in the world.  A Richmond location is coming soon!).  We also spent a lot of time lazing around the house.

Saturday Evan and I rode up to Chicago with Andrew and Abby to drop Abby off at the airport.  While there were tentative plans to hang out in Chicago, the group deemed the weather too cold to make the drive worth while.

Instead we went to Incredible Pizza.

Incredible Pizza is a buffet restaurant with an arcade.  And it is Incredible.  If you dress like a super hero you get $10 worth of games.  We also joined a dance party in the middle of the restaurant and got a free attraction (in addition to games they have mini golf, bumper cars, duckpin bowling, and laser tag).  So at the end of the night the fellas (including little Sam) and I played a round of laser tag.  It was a lot of fun, especially considering another family was playing on the other team and also had little ones.  Evan has a picture of us all in our superhero outfits, but hasn't forwarded it to me yet, so I'll post it later.

Sunday Emily was blessed.  It was wonderful to be there and I am so glad Evan got to be a part of that.  He missed out with Sam because he was really sick, so he only watched from the back.  He even jumped up to pass the sacrament when Andrew was asked so that Andrew could stay with his little family.

It was a great trip to say the least.  I took hardly any pictures, but I did manage to get a couple of Evan singing to Emily.  I feel truly blessed to have married into such a great family, and to have found my perfect companion.

Giving Thanks

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I always enjoy recounting what we are thankful for.  This year will be the first we spend together as a married couple.  I had the amazing opportunity last year to attend the Anderson Thanksgiving trip as a "special friend,"  but I am super excited to attend this year as an official Anderson.  And what will the second born Andersons be giving thanks for?  Many things.  We truly have been blessed this year in so many ways.  I am so grateful to all of our family and the support they have given us.  I am also grateful the application process is coming to an end and the stressfulness of it all is lightening up.

We may only be 6 months in, but I think the rest of the journey is looking pretty bright :)

In about 12 hours we will be waking up to embark on our drive to Iowa- expect pictures upon our return!

My Smartie Husband and further domestications

Evan informed me last night that his professor wants him to put more work into the research project she's been leading, and that his name will be put on the finished project :)  This is a big deal.  It doesn't happen often for undergrad psychology students to be published with their professors.  Apparently, they do a lot of grunt work, and get to mention it on a resume and that's the end of it.  Not my smartie though.


On a completely different note.

Saturday for our ward activity, part of it was a chili cook off.  I've never made chili.  So I signed up to bring cornbread instead.  I looked up a recipe and found one that looked doable.  However, it said it only made enough for 12.  In my opinion, that isn't enough to take to a large potluck type function.  I really spent too much time in a ward where only half the people contributed and everyone ate (don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the single's ward and cooking once a month for the masses, I just didn't adjust my thinking when I moved into a family ward).

So, I doubled the recipe.

BIG MISTAKE.

I ended up with two 3-QT and one 2-QT baking dishes full of cornbread.  Which theoretically left me with a big dish and a small dish.  However, some over achiever that got there before me made enough cornbread for half the ward, and by the time I got there, there wasn't even space on the table for my dish.  And none of it was eaten.

So it all came home.

And Evan is not a cornbread fan.

We managed to eat half of one dish over the last four days, but I knew it just wasn't going to be eaten.  So I did some googling, and found a recipe for cornbread pudding.

Who knew?

So pretty much, cornbread soaked in milk, sugar, butter, and eggs, then topped with more cornbread butter and cinnamon/sugar.  Then baked.  I predict a gooey sugary goodness.  Or a mess that ends up in the trash.  It smells great though. I'll review it at a later time, after it has been tested.

October happenings

Even amongst the craziness that is GRE/application preparation, we managed to have some fun this month.

We finally celebrated our second annual Totfest.  The first annual Totfest began because I was feeling devoid of Evan-nage in my life and I wanted a reason to hang out.  When I suggested a hangout session he said, "Sure, to do what?"  I was caught off guard so I texted back the first thing that popped into my head- "tots."  Fortunately, Evan and I were soul mates so he was right there with me- and totally excited to do it.  So we cooked up some tots and experimented with a few different types of dipping sauce choices.

This year we added hot wings to the menu.  And boy howdy was it delicious!  A dish full of hot wings, a bowl of tots, a multitude of sauces and the smell of fried oil in our apartment for the entire next week.  It was a wonderful day.

 Our spread- from left to right: salsa, Sweet Baby Ray's, honey mustard, (celery- for clearing the system after), ranch, chocolate sauce, guacamole.














Evan is excited for totfest!






















We look forward to this time each year, and hope our bodies don't get too upset by the amount of bad stuff we put into it!












We also got to have some Halloween fun.  First on Friday I dressed up for work.  We threw the kids a little Halloween party and let them dress up and play games and gave out candy.  It was pretty fun for all of us.  The counselor's agreed to go as 80's people, but only two of us remembered, so the other two went as Referees (one of them happens to be a ref and had the uniforms in her car.)

 Notice the totfest sign is still up.  I was proud I was able to pull this together form things around the house, and also of my hair.

Seriously, it just came to me.  The kids thought it was great and I was pleased with my handy work as well.

Saturday night, Evan and I went to our ward party.  Evan has wanted to dress up as ACDC for forever, which sounds good in theory.  However, very few people know what that looks like.  Even fans of the music don't necessarily know how the band dresses.  We did it anyway, and were very happy with our thrift store finds.  However as expected, no one got it.  Talk about disappointment. Take a look and see if the resemblance is noticeable

Angus Young (lead guitar) and Brian Johnson (lead vocals)

And the real deal:

Also on this wonderful Halloween weekend, Evan took the GRE (which put a stop to the crazy studying and sleep schedule).  ANd he did a great job too!  He had hyped himself up into thinking he wouldn't be able to get a decent score in the slightest, but he ended up with one that is competitive enough he has regained confidence in his choice of programs (he also relized in the shower the next day that he added wrong and in fact has 30 points more than he originally thought).  Though I'm still not sure I want to live in the midwest (even though that looks to be where the majority of his chosen programs are), I am sure proud of Evan!

Gearing up

The weather is getting chillier, Halloween costumes are being constructed, lights and spiderwebs are being hung, pumpkins being carved, holiday plans are being sketched out, and the second born Anderson family is narrowing down graduate school choices and studying for the GRE.

I don't know what made me think I would have little involvement in this process... I have spent the last week looking up the average GPA and GRE scores of students accepted into programs all over the country.  As well as how many stipends and assistantships are offered, whether or not it's been accredited by the APA, and countless other facts.  I have become an expert at skimming and finding the necessities from even the most poorly constructed of websites. 

On a side note- How in the world can you claim to be a highly selective, revered program that can offer full tuition plus a stipend to all of its doctoral students, but not afford to hire someone with the skills to organize a website for you?

I fell asleep on the couch last night as Evan was shouting out characteristics from the last couple of schools for me to write down.  I woke up an hour later to find him in the bedroom studying (he turned the lights out in the living room for me.  I vaguely remember him trying to convince me to move to the bed... I'm not cooperative in that state).  He finally turned the lights out around 1, and made me think he was going to sleep.  I found him back in the living room working on his personal statement when I woke up for a pee break at 3 - he was already a page in.  Then we narrowed our list down and I was able to convince him to go to sleep at 4 am.

Hopefully, after the GRE, once applications have been filled out, the waiting part will be much easier on my husband's sleep cycle.  Though I'm skeptical.

I'm grateful for my husband and his strength and dedication.  For his patience and understanding.  Gearing up for this new stage in our life is stressful, but even more so it is exciting. 

A Baking Tragedy

Tonight, I made cookies.  But they are not amazing.


This occasionally happens, but it is always highly disappointing.  Here is how this tragedy came to be:

I was feeling like I wanted to bake something, for the last couple of days actually.  Today, I decided I would bake cookies while Evan was at his priesthood meeting (from which he has still not returned).  I had everything I needed to make chocolate chip cookies, but I was feeling a bit more courageous so I consulted allrecipes.com, my go-to for new ideas.  I found a recipe for chocolate peppermint chocolate chip cookies.  They looked, amazing.  The recipe was similar to the classic tollhouse recipe, just add peppermint extract and cocoa powder, which I also had.  So I made soem cookie dough, which turned out great.  Then I went to the freezer to pull out my choco chips, and the bag was much less full than I remembered.  No problem I thought, I'll just use what I have, the batter is pretty good on it's own.  Well, I was wrong.  The cookies are too cakey, and need the extra chips, I really should have looked harder for something to add. I'm sure I could have found something farther back.

Anyhow, more relevant, the Husband has begun the application process for grad school. and by begun the process, I mean he is compiling a list of schools he is interested in which are all in states that are too cold, or too midwest. While I am not crazy about the midwest, the school he is most excited about (in that area) is only about two hours from his brother, which would be really fun.  I think I would enjoy being close to some family, and Evan really enjoys spending time with his brother so that would be good for him.

Tomorrow we hope to finish the compilation and begin to whittle down the choices.  Evan is looking to have a list of eight schools he likes and then will spend the next two months filling out applications and collecting letters of recommendation.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we end up somewhere warm, but - as Evan keeps reminding me - I can't choose what school he will attend based on the weather of the area.  BOO.

Things my husband says

Evan came home a couple weekends ago excited from an exhilarating tennis match with his new racquet (The Babolat.  He was SOOO excited to find it at Play it Again, and be able to make a pretty good trade for his old one).  He was standing in the living room behind me, I was absentmindedly checking facebook, just scrolling and Evan was reenacting his best moments from that morning.  He then stated: "I've been working on my backhand.  If you wanna know how to hit a good back hand, start practicing your pimp slap."  He then swung his racquet, demonstrating- complete with sound effects.  Seconds later, he set his racquet down and swung his hand in pimp slap fashion. Again with sound effects.

Thus started the Evan quote of the day.  It has been a wonderful experience listening to him, keeping an ear out for those little things he says that must be shared.

I love my husband, and all the crazy things he says.

I won!

The purple ribbon!  It says MVP, so I'm not really sure what that means... but out of like 40 desserts, there were only 6 or 7 ribbons, so I'm pretty proud.

Tonight, Evan and I were in charge of desserts for FHE (we have an ongoing rotation with some other couples).  Being that I was home all morning and have been itching to try out another decorating idea (I have this really fun book with a bunch of different fun cupcake decorating ideas.  I made an april fools cupcake platter a couple months ago... it was awesome... see below) I decided to take on one that looked simple enough.

In reality, it wasn't hard.  The icing just got too soft in my hands so it didn't always hold its shape.  For next time- two bags so I can have one in the fridge and one in my hand.  This was pretty easy though, just green icing, then oreo's, and yellow & orange icing for petals.  The ladybug is an m&m with 'black' (black food dye isn't easily accessible so I made a dark purple) icing.  I was pretty proud of myself!



Here's the first idea I took out of the book:

Cupcakes made to look like a tv dinner!
Drumsticks:  Cupcake, mini cinnamon roll on top, frosted and rolled in crushed cornflakes
Mashed potatoes with butter and gravy:  vanilla icing, yellow starburst, caramel sauce
Peas & carrots: green sixlets and orange starburst pieces
Chocolate pudding: chocolate icing and sprinkles


I'm 2 for 2 now in my baking contests, it will be disappointing to ever walk away from one without a ribbon.  I've been spoiled.

So, we haven't been keeping up with cheesecake Friday.  No excuses...
However, today we (read: Sarah) tried our (read: her) hand at cheesecake.  I'm super nervous about it.


The Stake Fair is today, and they asked people to bring an apple dessert for a bake off of some sort.  Well, we found a recipe for a cinnamon apple cheesecake.  So why not try it?  Problem is, cheesecake has to be chilled before it is served, and it is still in the oven, and it is already 1, and we have to leave at 4. ish.  Also, we thought it looked a little thin so added more filling, which means I should have increased the baking time.  Whoops.  I just hope it comes out resembling a cheesecake and is firm enough to fork.  :)

The top looks great though.  Cinnamon sugar coated pples arranged in a spirally way. I'll share pictures eventually.

So, wish us luck on our cheesecake endeavor! 

Ouch!

So, I was sitting in sacrament this morning, listening to the wonderful talks, in my peaceful calm place, when all of a sudden, this searing pain ran from the back of my neck straight out my right shoulder.  It really, really hurt.  I tipped over onto Evan and explained to him what happened, nearly in tears, and he started giggling.  He then explained it was probably because of playing tennis with him.  It then clicked that is why my forearms, back, and abs all hurt.

Oh yes, we played tennis all right.  Evan hit a ball to me then I had to hit it back to him.  After hitting at LEAST 200, he reversed rolls.  I hit him about 50-60 more and he hit them back to me.  So that is about 300 balls.  To someone that never plays tennis except for like three times... OUCH.  But it was way fun, a great way to spend time with my husband :)

And today, I made some oatmeal/craisin/white chocolate chip cookies.  They are still being tested, but they look good in our cake display.

Three whole months!

Obviously (read with sarcasm), the first three months are the hardest part of marriage and everything else will be pie (or cheesecake rather), so we celebrated with a day out.  It started with Evan skipping his weekly 7 am tennis game to fulfill my fantasy of sleeping in on a Saturday and having breakfast together.  I made pancakes and eggs and it was wonderful. 

Side Note:  I LOVE my electric skillet.  I can make 6 pancakes at a time with no burning and very little mess. Everyone should have one.


We then took further advantage of our Netflix account and wached Forrest Gump.  I remember disliking that movie as a child, but as an adult I enjoyed it.  I was surprised how hard it was for me to pull myself away to finish the dishes and necessary morning grooming.

This afternoon we went to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts with new (Married!) friends.  There was some interesting stuff in there.  Definitely something for everyone.  For those that enjoy the more realistic two-dimensional pieces, go on over to the European artwork, or antebellum artwork.  While in those rooms you can also find furniture and silver tableware.  Want to see some older, more cultural artwork?  Go take a look at the pre-colombian artwork or the Himalayan artwork.  And of course there is the third floor which houses the modern art.  Overall, a good experience, but we were starved so made a pit stop at Cici's before heading off to our own houses for nap time. 

This evening we got to host a game night (our house, their games) so we finally had a reason to finish cleaning up the mess from rearranging our furniture.  And I will say- it looks pretty good.  As much as neither of us like this apartment, we make do with what we have. 

And of course, we finished our three month mini anniversary with Evan reading my blog post over my shoulder and giving 'helpful' ideas on how to better express myself.   He is aware now that he is allowed to write, so be prepared for the "more flamboyant" one.  His words, not mine.

Dry Season

In Virginia, it is not currently the dry season - weather wise.  However, it has been weeks since we had cheesecake.  Why, you might ask?  I really couldn't tell you.  Usually there is something more exciting we plan on doing.  But no matter the reason, it must stop!  We will never finish our cheesecake list at this rate.  Especially if they keep adding on new ones!

However, our weekend was wonderful.  I was pretty busy all week, and home later than usual, and more tired than usual, so it was nice to have a relaxing and fun weekend.

On Wednesday was the annual Camp Saponi Banquet, where counselors are awarded superlatives voted on by the staff.  I came home with three:
 * Most Patient (I was given kudos for working well with both the historically most troublesome group and also for being buddy counselors with someone brand new to the field, who also had some odd quirks that made the work day a little more stressful than necessary)
* Most Likely to Murder a Coworker (again because of the aforementioned buddy counselor, and our not really getting along)
* Rookie of the Year (Even though I have been in child care longer than most of the staff, it was my first year at this particular summer camp, so they said it counts.  Plus the comments weren't really about being a first timer, more about being new to the group and excelling as 80% of the staff have been there for multiple summers.)

I would say I can be proud of that.

Friday night Evan and I planned on seeing The Karate Kid at the Byrd.  However, we needed to eat first, which meant going to the grocery store, and unfortunately Evan's debit card chose that day to stop working so I had to drive home and get mine which put us way too late to make it to the movie.  So we watched Batman Returns instead and I crawled into bed embarrassingly early.

Saturday I worked on cleaning the kitchen (a problem area in our apartment) and FINALLY moving the desk and computer we've been talking about.  I did this while Evan was playing tennis.  I tend to be more motivated if I start early and keep going til I'm done.  Unfortunately I didn't finish because I took our laundry to the Padres house after Abby offered to wash it for us in exchange for paying for her movie ticket.  SCORE!  (Thanks Abby!) So I only got about 90% done.  Oh well, one more week to get it before the semester starts.
That night we went to see The Karate Kid with some friends from our ward (slowly we are making friends with other married people) and let me say, it was amazing.  Not only was the movie good, but the crowd was awesome.  Everyone was so dedicated to the story they all cheered at the end as if they were actually part of it.  Those types of crowds make the movie going experience worth it.

Finally Sunday, the day of rest came where we enjoyed church, two dinners, and a game night.  I only hope the following week goes just as well!  We start class on Thursday so we can only hope!

IT'S HERE!

After seven grueling months of waiting and compromising and bargaining with representatives over the telephone that have no idea what they are talking about-  our apartment has been connected to the internet.  You have no idea how much you miss it until it is gone.  FOR SERIOUS.  Finally you adjust, but as soon as you think it is coming it's back to square one.

In honor of having my own private internet connection- here's that video I promised!

Winners of the Wii dance competition.  They earned it.

Forgetting Cheesecake...

I cannot for the life of me remember whether or not we had cheesecake two weeks ago... I really wish I could.  I remember eating the Tiramisu cheesecake, and I remember last week's - Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cake Cheesecake (or something like that), but I can't remember in between.  Oh well I suppose.

Last week's cheesecake was amazing.  I do not enjoy peanut butter with my chocolate, and especially not in my cheesecake, but this one was absolutely enjoyable.  Cheesecake with Peanut Butter cups swirled in (similar to Adam's Peanut Butter cup), then a layer of peanut butter icing, then a layer of chocolate cake.  Then everything again with icing on top.  The Peanut Butter part was subtle so it didn't bother me at all.

Another one to add to the 'Definitely Recommend' list.

On Saturday I went to the DMV to try and find my driver's license I applied for over a month ago and never received.  It was mailed back to them and so I had to re-apply.  This of course cause me to be all sorts of angry, because why couldn't they have called to tell me it was sent back to them?  I don't know.  Apparently they are too busy for that or something.  What really got me though was that the supervisor lady came over and said, "Ohhh, that was over 30 days ago (barely).  10 dollars.  New Card." and walked away.  She didn't even look at me.  And I was already angry I had to be there, on a Saturday, waiting for an hour to even get to the window.  So I went home angrily and threw a fit while cleaning out the refrigerator.  Poor Evan came home and walked right into it.  I was still abotu 30 minutes away from being completely cooled off.  Good husband he is though took a shower and treated me to some new skirts. :)

I have been learning to deal with wearing the same two skirts every week, simply because I had to stop wearing most of my (Sunday) clothes due to length issues.   However, we never really have the time, or resources, to go out and replenish my wardrobe.  Which is fine, I have two skirts that go with about everything, so I was doing ok.  Well, Saturday evening was Elizabeth's farewell BBQ so we had planned on going to Goodwill to find some clothes to win the costume contest.  (It was BYU themed, best BYU outfit won a prize).  We got there, found some White and Blue attire that was almost exactly what we imagined, and were well pleased.  Evan then added that I should look through the skirts and see if I liked any of them for myself.  And guess what?  I did.  I found about 5 of them actually, not one over $5.  Never in my life did I expect to walk into a Goodwill and see clothes that not only looked new, but I would want to wear.

Guess I had to get off my high horse at some point.

Now for the pictures!

                                                    We went as a BYU Couple.

And wouldn't ya know, we won the costume contest!  GO TEAM EVRAH!

There was also a Wii dance competition, and I have a lovely video of the parents gettin jiggy, but it will have to come later as my computer seems to be acting up. 

Until  next time!

Pesto- From scratch.

I think I am going to change our blog title to: The Domestication of Sarah.
Why for?
Because slowly I am becoming a domesticated woman.  I still have my stubborn streaks though.  For example, for three weeks straight I cooked dinner every night, dished it up and we ate.  I even started making desserts on the weekends.  Like- whoa.  Then for the next week I missed almost every night.  Grocery store chicken, followed by leftovers, followed by rice and vegetables steamed at the last minute... pretty much anything that took less than 20 minutes.  Or could be picked up in a grocery store.

I ENJOY cooking dinner every night.  But if I don't plan ahead then I can't do it.  I have to have a plan.  It's pretty much the only way I function.

Tonight on my journey to domestication, I made pesto from the basil growing in our window planters.  I planted the basil not really knowing what to do with it once it grew.  And then it grew quickly. And thick.  Its taking over the window.  I didn't know what to do with it aside from adding a little to spaghetti.  Then a friend brought up the (obvious) point that pesto is made form basil.  Apparently she also has an abundance and makes pesto almost every week.  So I gave it a try.

It turned out pretty good, but it definitely needs fresh shaved parmesan instead of the grated kind in the fridge.  So, I can make it again!  Go me!

Just because I want to- my favorite recipe I've learned is stuffed mushrooms.  Really easy. Really delicious. And they look fancy. Excellent!

Oh storm

End of the work day went like this

(conversation over walkie talkie, so add in static)

J: Anyone checked the forecast lately? It's gettin kinda dark

E: I'll check ... (five minutes later) big storm coming but the radar says it will go around us

--30 minutes later--

P: It's kinda scary out here

*thunder*

E: Ok! Everyone inside!

A: E, do you actually see anything? Cause all I see is blue skies. let's keep everyone outside for a little while.

E: ookkk...

*thunder*

E: A, that was more thunder and now the pool is closed.

A: I think we're ok, I'll check the forecast in a minute

E: Are we not following the 'where there's thunder there's lightning rule?' Cause they closed the pool already.

A: I just don't see anything. It looks clear down here

E: Ok, well outside we can see the storm moving in.

*thunder*

K: Ok, start moving inside.

--now imagine 100 kids and 20 staff walking across a soccer field all at once--

E: Blue skies? What eyes is she using?

M: It looks clear to me?

E: Take your sunglasses off!

--everyone finally gets inside, 5 minutes pass and the rain starts--

D: (looking out the window depressed) Oh...

S: hm?

D: I left my windows down...

S: You should go roll them up

--Poor D had to run across the parking lot as the storm continued to get worse--

In better news- I finally got my cheesecake. Tiramisu cheesecake to be exact. And it was delightful. :)

Dearest Darlingest Evan:

I would like some cheesecake now. Can't you see me here with my big pretty eyes, batting my long perfectly curled eyelashes at you? Please can we go? Pretty please?

I'm about to out him and his love of the movie Sky High.

whoops.

Cheesecake? Hello?

Why haven't we posted about our cheesecake escapades? Because for the last couple of weeks we have collapsed into bed Friday night, exhausted from a week of work. Please tell me it is only this bad because the heat intensifies everything. Bah. Anyhow, Miss Sarah will not be letting cheesecake friday dissolve into dreamland this week. Promise.

Other than that, being married rocks :)

Whirlwinds

i know i'm behind on cheesecake, but it is possible I only missed one week... maybe two. gosh I wish we had the internet. Amazingly, I've lived without it for almost seven months, but everyday feels like torture. We should be getting it within the next two weeks though.

Cheesecake friday is still going strong. Ooh, I think I just remembered which ones we had. We had pineapple upside down cheesecake and pecan turtle cheesecake.

opposite ends of the spectrum.

pineapple upside down was... disappointing. I was actually looking forward to it even! The pineapple part was just bad though. Like, not fresh, not delicious, and mostly mush. the cheesecake part was good, but DUH. so, don't get that one unless you have an unbreakable love for pineapple and aren't often let down.

pecan turtle however was amazing. I loved it. I love all things caramel and chocolate, so it wasn't that hard for me to love it. I wish i wasn't so tired so i could write more, buuuuut, too bad. Just take my word for it.

i've been at summer camp everyday where I have to lead a group of 16 boys fresh out of kindergarten around. generally, not so bad. It is tiring though. By the end of the day all of us - me and the boys - need a nap.

not to mention, Evan took me to the midnight showing of the last airbender last night. errr, this morning. it was not as amazing as i wanted it to be. We have our fingers crossed for a re-do. Cause it had every right to be an amazing movie.

ummm the end.

Wedding, Honeymoon, and finally cheesecake

First off, the new blog title was Evan's idea. Say my full *new* name out loud to get it. (It's the Ann Anderson that gets him) I'll say it was pretty clever, but will probably change soon.

Second- the wedding was wonderful, I was lucky enough to have my family come out for the big day and no major problems. Both my parents lost their luggage, but it arrived in plenty of time for the wedding.

Instead of words, I'll let the pictures do the talking.

You may notice in some of the pictures we are not looking at the camera. Juana (pictured in only one picture the entire day) stood off to the side of our photographer and took pictures as well. This means I get to have some sooner than our professional ones :) It also means I have a lot more of my family that were taken during the sealing.

The reception was also beautiful. My parents were an hour late (they got lost) but the dj was AMAZING and managed to make it work anyway. Look up Joe from Dynamite DJs if you ever need a dj. He was spectacular. I cannot even express- pretty much without him our reception would have fallen apart.

Yeah, I wore green shoes.

All in all, most amazing day I've had so far :)

We spent Saturday with Evan's family (my mom flew home early that morning and my dad, brothers, and juana braved DC one more time to tour around). Then, after a wonderful round two of bad movie night (which meant I fell asleep and once again missed out on the cinematic geniuses offered in some lesser known/appreciated movies) we left for Florida. 15 hours later we arrived at our resort and thought "this can't be right... these look like homes." Indeed, our room was larger than our apartment and our resort offered more than we could ever need. Including four pools, two of which were 24 hours with poolside restaurants, a shuffleboard court, a mini golf course, a lake with jetski/boat rentals and beautiful landscaping/wildlife.

At the end of a week in paradise, we sadly returned home to our small apartment, full of boxes and random assorted item scattered about. We spent the following week moving things, dumping things, unpacking, rearranging, and cleaning. We rewarded ourselves with a slice of godiva cheesecake and a taco bell $2 meal. The taco bell was what was to be expected. Wonderful. The cheesecake however was an amazing experience. It was exactly what it claimed to be. Godiva chocolate cheesecake. I was in an actual need of the whipped cream this week to tone down the rich flavor, but did not regret once eating my way through that slice of heaven.

I should also give a big hats off to Nerissa for making our wedding cake. From scratch. Three cheesecakes actually. Not only were they delicious, they were so delicious that Evan and I had to put up a fight for the last 1/2 of cheesecake. Which we finished on our return from florida. Unfortunately, we only had the pleasure of trying one flavor (Dulce de Leche, which can compete with cheesecake factory easily), but I have heard from many happy mouths that the other two cakes were just as satisfying. If you wish to see more pictures check facebook (eventually) or Brandon's (our photographer) website for his. I'll put a link in our side bar once I find it.

Until next week!

Cheesecake on Hiatus

Ok, I owe three weeks to the blog. I have a few pictures to go with, but they are on my computer and I am currently using Evan's... so sorry anyone who stumbles among this pile of words!

Part 1: May 7
In celebration of Evan turning 25, I decided to give him a birthweek celebration instead of just a birthday. So, Friday morning I decorated the apartment, and bought some country style doughnuts. Delicious. I also took him to see Iron Man 2, after we had dinner with his parents. Since we for sure had a fill on cake, doughnuts, movie candy, Aunt Jennifer's brownies, etc., we skipped cheesecake. Saturday was similarly filled with fun and surprises. Each day for the next week I surprised Evan with a gift, some more useful than others, some more desired than others. We had no cheesecake that week, but in its place a grand celebration.

Part 2: May 14
We double dated with Evan's parents. We were planning to go to the movies and they were planning to go to the movies. Evan's dad really wanted to see Iron Man 2, and his mom really didn't. She agreed to go, but was not looking forward to it. So while we were driving Evan presented the idea that he go see a movie with his dad and I could go with his mom to see something more up her alley. I got to see How to Train your Dragon 3-D which was pretty cool. We enjoyed. Plus, I had all the goodies in my purse.
For cheesecake we did a repeat. It was Evan's final day of Birthweek, and so he picked his favorite. We decided it was ok because I hadn't tried it the time he got it (it was from our first week when we each got our own slice). So I tried a couple bites. I didn't care much for it. I mean, it was good, but I am not big on peanut butter in my desserts. However, Evan loves it. It has remained his favorite among all the other slices we have tried.

Part 3: May 21
Chocolate Cake Cheesecake.
Remember the red velvet? Very similar to that but with chocolate cake. Here's the breakdown:
Chocolate cake, cheesecake, frosting, chocolate cake, cheesecake, frosting, frosting flower. As Evan put it, the last couple bites with the frosting flower was like "somebody put on a chocolate boot then kicked you in the mouth. Then you asked them to do it again." And it was. It took many cups of milk to get that all down!

I probably will not be updating again for quite a while seeing as the wedding is this week. I am sure we will skip the tradition this week since wonderful Nerissa is making cheesecake for our wedding. And the following week we will be driving back from Florida and may or may not make it to the cheesecake factory.

Well people, alterations have been done, rings have been sized, decorations have been bought. The wedding is almost here and the flurry of planning is almost over. Can't wait!

A Frantic Journey to Cheesecake

I had to travel home for my grandmother's funeral and was gone for two days (it was a teary trip, but we all know she is much happier in her perfect body). This meant Cheesecake Friday became Cheesecake Saturday. And Cheesecake Saturday was filled to the brim! I landed in RIC at 9am, then rushed to Evan's house to change and clean up, then off to a bridal shower at 10! I wasn't even late, which was awesome!! Then I went and got some wedding stuff done, including looking at wedding bands. unfortunately Evan was sick with a terrible cold so he couldn't come. However, I managed to coax him out with chicken noodle soup and Vanilla Bean Cheesecake. Then I drug him back to the jeweler's to look at rings and get his size. It was a full Saturday for sure.

Anyhow, on to the review!

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake.

Usually, I avoid vanilla flavor at all costs. It is kind of like eating white bread for me. Plain, boring, lacking. However, this was a great combination. It made the cheesecake a little lighter, both in texture and taste. I thoroughly enjoyed it as did Evan and Mom.

One thing I am getting from this adventure through the list of cheesecakes (besides a calorie overload every weekend) is the bravery to choose things I would not normally choose. Flavors I find boring, or plain, or too outrageous are now on my list of must haves.

So, I am more exhausted than normal. I think it is time I turn away from the computer and toward getting ready for finals week!

Good luck to all of you studying out there!

Brownie Sunday Cheesecake

In Evan's words "If you are looking for one slice of cheesecake to satisfy a double date, pick this one."

Delicious? Of course. But it is also the atomic bomb of rich desserts.

Imagine to yourself a gooey, thick, chocolatey brownie, slathered in ice cream with a cherry and fudge topping on top. Plus the whip cream and almond slivers. The epitome of a brownie sunday right? Now, substitute the ice cream for a slab of cheesecake. Now try to eat it. It was definitely worth the work of chewing through all the gooey goodness, but after two bites your stomach begs you for a cease fire.

I would also like to note that Evan is sitting beside me editing every word, but refuses to type himself. "Not every word, or I would correct a lot more!" Oh, excuu-uuuse me!

Also, his dino of a computer apparently can't handle the VCU wireless connection as well as mine. Take that 'imagery' man!

Cheesecake Saturday

Friday night was, busy. In a good way. It was fun all around, we just never made it to the Cheesecake Factory. For starting, I went to Amber's house for some fabulous food and good company. Then I met up with Evan and Steven for a birthday party at The Bank. Now, I have never heard of the bank, but it was surprisingly fun. For a place with no cover charge it was a pretty classy set up. I say classy set up because, for some reason, the people that ended up there were far below the class level of the design of the club. For one, there was some guy judging everyone that was dancing, deciding who he would challege to a dance off. He went with the 'pick the inebriated single chick' route. Which led to far too much unattractive grinding. And touching. Plus some chick with pounds of hair doing her 'ballerina' twirls around them. It was scene straight out of a surreal dream. But our little group had lots of fun. Whether we could dance or not we stuck to ourselves and had a blast.

Saturday, we finally got our cheesecake. We went with the Kahlua Cocoa Coffee Cream Cheesecake. So pretty much, all the stuff we avoid on a daily basis :) It was good, it is cheesecake factory after all. But, I was not crazy about the coffee flavor. it was a little overpowering. Evan finished it off no problem, he claimed adding whip cream diluted the coffee flavor. I can say, that those that enjoy coffee flavored things would enjoy this cheesecake very much.

Ps- 39 days til the wedding!!

Cheesecake sees the capital!

Friday night Evan and I headed up to DC to meet his family so we could have an early morning temple trip. We for sure were not going to mess up tradition so we picked up our cheesecake before we left and took it with us. White Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake. A mouthful to say AND eat :)

Unfortunately, my title is deceiving and the cheesecake didn't even make it to I-95. It was however, delicious. It had some very subtle flavors with a wonderfully chewy gooey crust and caramel all over. I would recommend this to many people, but it is still not my favorite. I am worried that no other cheesecake will ever make me hyperventilate the way my beloved Dulce de Leche did. I will still love all cheesecakes for their special qualities though.

The temple was beautiful. Evan and his parents did a session while Abby and I did baptisms. And boy was it a struggle to get in! After many phone calls to verify that I do in fact have a recommend and that I really did just leave it at home, we went inside and got to do wonderful work. I love the temple and I am so excited to go back so soon!!

After that, we went to the zoo and walked around for hours admiring the animals in their cages. On the way home we stopped at Lonestar Steakhouse for dinner. I have some things to say about that place:

#1- I was sure this would be the only time Evan and I would go together because there is no way we can afford a steakhouse dinner!

#2- That was not true

#3- Their food is delicious and generously portioned

#4- You can get an appetizer, two entrees and four sides for $20.

#5- We found a new date restaurant!

A New Favorite!

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake.

If not for the goal of one different piece each week, I would go back for this one again, and again, and again. It was perfectly creamy, and cheesecakey, and dulce-y. ohhh goodness. It is at the top of my list and it will take a lot to de-throne it.

Cheesecake Factory, please never stop making this cheesecake. Also, please bury it with me so that I may enjoy it for all of eternity.

For ten years from now

Dear Future Evan and Sarah:

I really hope you have overcome that nasty habit of procrastinating. Remember when you had less than two months until your wedding and still hadn't... Had the dress altered? Tux ordered? Flowers ordered? Picked out wedding bands? Invitations printed? Attire for the attendants? And countless other things?

I'm sure all those things worked themselves out and your wedding was beautiful. Because the most important thing is the marriage, not the wedding. So really, more important than anything else, I hope you are still madly in love :)

In talking to other brides, I have come to realize that things have happened very easily for us. We didn't have to search for a ceremony venue, the temple is open everyday, all day, waiting for appointments. No problems there.

Evan's mom took on booking the reception site, and found it quickly (THANK YOU!).

I waited pretty late to look at dresses so I could do it with my mom, and we found one. In my price range. On my first visit. And even though they typically don't sell dresses off the rack (unless they are discontinued), they sold this one to me so I could have it instead of risking not getting it until the day of the wedding and not doing any alterations.

My mom helped me pick out flowers and do a mock up of my bouquet. it took us ten minutes and I love every piece of it.

We have been so blessed with the entire process, and I can only hope it goes this smoothly for the next two months! We have a lot to do, but we have not lost site of what is important and I think that has been the most helpful thing. Our marriage, being sealed to each other for eternity is the most important part of this. The reception is a celebration of our union, and all the details are there to make it look nice and be fun for ourselves and our guests. But the marriage is forever, the wedding day is only one day.

Cheesecake and Pizza

For cheesecake friday this week, or last week I s'pose, we decided to preface our dessert with a little pizza creation! March Madness is one of Evan's favorite times of the year. So we got a cheese pizza, then some toppings and decorated in honor of some of the teams lucky enough to make the sweet sixteen, and monopolize Evan;s thoughts. We used pepperoni to make the Ohio State "O," Orange peppers to make a "T" for tennessee, Olives for Duke's "D," and french's fried onions for Baylor University. It was lovely. We took pictures, then re-decorated so that the toppings were spread all over. Baked it and ate it! And can I say- French's Fried Onions are GREAT on pizza!

The we moved on to the Oreo Cheesecake. Evan was looking for something a little closer to classic cheesecake. We were torn between the Classic, Vanilla, and Oreo. I finally decided Oreo was it.

It was everything a classic cheesecake slice should be, plus an Oreo crust and some chunks on top. Perfection in Simplicity!

We are back!

It all started early in the morning, traveling by car, plane, bus, train, then car again. Here is us at the train station in Tacoma. Pretty, no?

Saturday morning I took Evan for a hike up Beacon Rock. Beacon Rock is really not a rock, but a lava plug. Apparently, a long time ago, some volcano erupted and this is what was left of it. Some guy bought it early in the 1900s for ONE PENNY and constructed a trail up the side. I is now a very popular hike for people living in the area. It's pretty short and easy so a lot of families go when the weather is nice. This is a picture of us partway up, it was pretty windy that day, but then being in the gorge, and up a couple hundred feet made it even more.
After Beacon Rock, I took Evan to the fish hatchery and the Bonneville Dam. The dam is hydroelectric and uses these monstrous turbines to make power. We learned it takes something like 96,000 gallons of water per second to keep these turning 75 times a minute. CRAZY! The hatchery is nearby, where they grow lots and lots of fish, then release them into the river. Back in the day, the salmon population was pretty big in the river, now they are trying to keep it regulated since building the dam hurt the salmon population quite a bit. Here is Evan under an old turbine. They just finished replacing the old turbines and put this one on display outside.

Sunday was our big party. We played a 'how well do you know each other' game. Every time we got a question wrong we had to put a piece of gum in our mouths. We didn't do se well! I think we ended up with 8 pieces of gum each in our mouths. I gave one of mine to my assistant Mia. It was her job to unwrap the gum and make sure I ate it. After about three pieces I told she could have one. She politely said thank you and took one for the team! The last couple pieces were hard to get in! Evan was able to blow a bubble with his, I couldn't quite get it to happen.

We were dressed in toilet paper wedding dresses along with my cousin Kurtis and Mia (4 1/2 ad spunky!) Mia won the competition. She had the other kids at the party dressing her and they took it very seriously. She made a great model and a beautiful bride!

I really did enjoy our trip, but I am also glad to be back. There is still a lot to do and just over 60 days left to do it! Plus all of the work and school we both have going on at the same time!

Craig's Crazy Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Yes, even while 3,000 miles from home, we stuck with our tradition of eating one slice of cheesecake on friday night. And oh the adventure it was!

First off, I had never been to the cheesecake factory out here so I had to look it up. It didn't look too bad, only about 20 minutes away. So off we set! And as we are driving we begin to remember it is Friday afternoon. And I remember what traffic looks like coming out of Portland in the afternoon... so we know it will take much longer to get home than to get there.

We take a series of highways and freeways and finally get off in the Tigard area. We start driving on another highway, looking for our next turn. Oh mapquest, why are you so wrong sometimes! We could see The Cheesecake Factory, but we just could not get to it. FInally after some fancy maneuvering and many wrong turns, we made it. We spent a few good minutes walking around Washington Square Mall, and then headed home with cheesecake in our hands.

And on the joy of standstill traffic! It was just lovely. And then I thought to myself, Hey, maybe if I go this way I can get over the river faster and just go home that way! Smart right? WRONG. We just took a long loop around. It took about the same amount of time as just sitting in traffic. Except we drove through some crazy small town. Then, we got spit out right back on the crowded freeway. Oh well!

We finally made it home three hours after setting out on our journey. Evan threatened to not share the cheesecake. he thought I deserved punishment for my bad sense of direction. Lucky for me, he changed his mind after dinner :)

And we feasted on a beautiful slice of cheesecake infused with carrot cake. It was splendid! Still not on my favorites list, but pretty darn good! The carrot cake was much stronger than the cheesecake, so it mostly tasted like carrot cake. I love carrot cake though, so it was all good with me!

Planes, trains, and automobiles.

We have officially started our spring break and did it start off quick! Evan's parents took us to see Wicked on Tuesday night which was fabulous. And so much fun. Ah! It was awesome. There really just aren't words to describe how beautiful it was.

Wednesday we woke up early (4 am early) and went to the airport. Our plane left at 6:30 and then we spent the rest of the day traveling. We took two planes, then a bus, got lost, took another bus, got to the train station, took a train (and sat next to a guy that packed his own six pack of Corona and drank the entire thing) and finally arrived in Vancouver, getting home about 6:30 pm. That's 12 hours right there. Now, factor in the three hour time difference. Yup, we gained three hours so, 15 hours of traveling. If you want to really sympathize, you can add those extra two hours of being awake, plus not getting home til after midnight the night before. Plus we both still had to pack. It all just made for one of the longest days ever. But totally worth it.

Today, I went dress shopping AND found THE dress. It is absolutely beautiful. And a great price. AND beautiful. My mom also helped me make a mock up of my bouquet. Everything has just gone so smoothly with her near! Mother's are so important! I love mine!

Evan got to meet Debra (one my besties from high school) and get a little mini tour of the east-end, downtown area of vancouver. Then we made dinner for the family, which turned out well, and then Evan got to talk to someone about sports finally so I think he is pretty content with that!

We are both so exhausted, I hope my rambling wasn't too crazy! Off to bed, another busy day faces us tomorrow!

Not quite cheesecake Friday

Okay, cheesecake #8 (is that where I am now?) was not actually cheesecake. It was sitting next to the cheesecakes and looked delicious, but it was not cheesecake. Am I disappointed? No. We agreed to the entire dessert menu so we would have eaten it anyway at some point. AND. It was delicious.

Friday night we were joined by some friends. We met up, had dinner at Vietnam 1 (delicious) then snuck some cheesecake into the Byrd and watched Up in the Air. The lemincello cream torte (not cheesecake) made the movie much more enjoyable. The movie was fine on its own, but the cake was even better.

We pulled it out shortly after the previews started and I took a bite and thought, "Mmmm.". Then I took another and thought, "Oh yum." Then Evan took a bite. Then I took a third bite, realizing I still hadn't hit cheesecake. WHOOPS. Still worth it. I thoroughly enjoy lemon flavored cakes and this one was exceptional. About on the same level as that Olive Garden one that I like but will only remember with the menu in front of me.

In two days I am taking Evan to meet my family. EXCITING! We will be flying into Seattle, then taking the train down to the 'Couve where we will be greeted by food (hopefully). And hugs (more likely). I am really happy I get to take Evan to my hometown and show him around and let him meet everyone!