Attitude of Gratitude (Better Late Than Never)

I totally forgot on Thursday to do my Attitude of Gratitude. So rather than skipping it altogether for April, I'll just do it on a Monday instead...

1) I am so super duper awesomely grateful for my new calling as the Beehive adviser. *In case you couldn't tell, I like my calling* I love the girls that I work with and the counselor I work with is a great friend and awesome to work with.

2) I am grateful for another friend of our's who is going to sit down with us and help is make a plan to get into a house of our own sooner rather than later. We're hoping to need another bedroom in about 2 years from now, so we'll see what we can work out.

3) I am grateful for yet another friend who totally made my day on Saturday. I'd been having a rough time and she never fails to make me feel loved and appreciated. I rarely get to see her anymore since they moved, so being able to talk with her on Saturday was a wonderful blessing to me :)

Personal Progress Update

I decided to do a brief update on my Personal Progress. I have completed Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice & Accountability and Virtue.

I have finished a total of 38/46 experiences and 5/8 projects.
I am currently working on 4 experiences and the remaining 3 projects.
Once these are done, I will only have 4 experiences left to complete.
I am very much on track to finish all of them before YW Camp :)

On a side note, I will be finished Good Works by the end of the week.

I absolutely LOVE serving in Young Women. Definitely my favorite calling to date.

Crafty, Food Stuff and Ribbons

My mum came this weekend and we made some wreaths for my door. A spring one, that I have up right now, and a summer one as well. I really like them and am looking forward to making more for the fall (autumn, halloween, etc).

We made up the Shepherd's Pie which was okay, except we were cooking it from frozen and that REALLY extended the cooking time. We just hadn't been expecting to make it for a lunch instead of a supper.

The Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken and the Lemon Rice were both super super yummy.

Anyway, not too much else is new here, other than all of us except for Caleb having a cold. Feeling a little better than I did yesterday, though.

Oh, and I got my 4 Personal Progress ribbons this last Sunday. I will have another one earned by the end of this month. My goal is to have earned them all by YW camp. Hopefully I can pull it off.

Food and YW

On Monday we had Chicken & Black Bean Burritos that went over great with everyone. We would definitely like to have them again.

On Tuesday we had Cheeseburger Meatloaf, Garlic Bread & Corn, which was loved by all. Then I got to attend YW and play super fun games. I also found out that I am officially able to go to camp with them this summer which I'm insanely excited about.

Wednesday we had Baked Macaroni & Cheese as well as Mixed Veggies. It was LOVED by all. My niece even had thirds and asked for the recipe. We will definitely be needing to make that again.

Last night we had Pizza Soup. Truthfully, it tasted like we were eating spaghetti sauce with meat in it. It wasn't bad, but we weren't quite sure about it.

Tonight we are having Shepherd's Pie and tomorrow we're having Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken and Lemon Rice. Should be good. Then we'll have tried all of the kinds of freezer meals that I made. I'm really glad that I did this, it's been a great learning experience for me.

Food and The Exciting News

Saturday night we had Chicken Chili. We had to add an extra can of beans and a bunch of salsa so that we would have enough for my nieces as well. It was pretty good, although the extra salsa made it a tiny bit too spicy, but we won't have the same problem next time. I would make it again.

Yesterday we had Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole, which was super yummy and we didn't have any leftovers. I got the recipe from my sister-in-law.

I also got my new calling yesterday, which was the exciting news I had to keep quiet for a couple of weeks (and it was really hard to keep quiet because I was so excited). I am the new Beehive advisor in our ward, which I am super duper excited about!!! I also love the counselor I'm working with, which makes it even more awesome. I am so excited to serve in this calling, especially since the girls that I'll be working with are the same girls I had in Activity Days.

More Food Reviews, A Talk and Family Photos

Wednesday night we had Vegetable Chowder for supper. It did not go over well at all. There wasn't nearly enough spice/flavor and it tasted horribly plain. The boys really weren't into it. I don't think we'll make it again after the month is over.

Thursday evening we had Catelina Chicken along with some frozen veggies. We LOVED the chicken and will definitely be adding that as a meal to make again. Brettley especially enjoyed it. He really likes chicken.

Today we had Meatball Stroganoff on Macaroni, which was super yummy and everyone wanted seconds. The only change I would make is to use corn as the vegetable instead of peas as I'm not a fan of peas. But that's entirely a personal thing.

Also, I just finished writing out my talk that I'm giving in church on Sunday. I don't know if anyone else will enjoy it, but it was an awesome experience for me. *As a note, I should be able to say in my next post what my exciting news is*

Tomorrow we are having family photos done, which I'm very excited about. It's also a sad thing, though, as our photographer is soon moving to the UK, so we will have to find someone new :( Oh well, we wish her the best of luck across the pond!

Food Reviews and Specs

Monday night we had Chicken Rice Wraps. John really liked them (Brett went nuts over them). Ty just refused to eat that night. Caleb and I both found that they were plain while you were eating them and then ended up having too much of a spicy after kick for our taste. We'll eat them again just because they're already made for later this month, but it's not something I'll make again since at least 2 of us didn't like them.

Yesterday we had Cabbage Roll Casserole. It had a different taste from the recipe I used to use, but we liked it. The boys didn't LOVE it, except Brett who loves pretty much any food you put in front of him, but at least they were willing to eat it. I'd make it again.

I got my eyes examined last night. I will now be a full-time glasses wearer. I am to wear my reading glasses until I get my new ones, because my prescription changed a bit. I ordered 2 pair from Zenni Optical. Hopefully they'll look okay on me, I was pretty nervous about buying glasses that I've never tried on in person. However, it was only $70 for both pair, including AR coating on both AND shipping costs. So here they are:










What do you think?

Pulled Beef in BBQ Sauce

So freezer meal #1 was a success. We had pulled beef in BBQ sauce on a bun along with an Asian salad kit. I was so worried that we wouldn't have enough meat, but we all had enough to eat and there was lots leftover for John's lunch tomorrow as well. I took the package of cooked meat & BBQ sauce out last night and left it in the fridge. This morning I popped it in the slow cooker on low for the day, adding about 1/3 cup more BBQ sauce for the last half hour. It took a whole 3 minutes, if that, for John to put the salad together. We all thought it was super yummy and I'm sure we're all looking forward to having it again in a couple of weeks.