Friday, February 25, 2011

Oh Korea...

While Jon and I are extremely happy with our decision to move back to the land of the U.S. of A, there are definitely moments we really miss Korea and the amazing people we met there.

Lucky for us, there's a whole group of Korean families living on the Denver Seminary Campus. We've already had numerous invitations for dinner and every Korean that meets us is beyond ecstatic that we lived in Korea.

Another fun aspect is that every Friday the Korean men get together for soccer/volleyball. As in a soccer ball being kicked/headed/etc. over a low net. I've kept telling Jon that he needs to join in on the fun, and he didn't until today...



Yes my husband did run out in his Pak Ji Sung jersey.
The Koreans went wild!!!

shocking... i know.
(if you don't know who pak ji sung is... look him up and it'll all come together)


throughout the game there was a healthy dose of "nice-uh" and "fighting!" with a whole lot of other Korean phrases mixed in :)

It made us miss our Korean Volleyball games and co-teachers so much!



Oh Korea, how we miss you :)

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Dinna' Time

Tonight Jon and I found ourselves in a bit of a quandary.
Jon had been sick all day, I'd been studying, and we had church at 6.
While I thoroughly enjoy Saturday evening church, it's a difficult time to plan dinner around.
We don't like eating before because it's too early, and by the time we get home at 8 we don't want to take the time to prep and cook.

We were thinking of some sort of cheesy potato creation and something to use up the massive amounts of venison we have occupying our freezer space.

So I decided to was time for the crock-pot to pay a visit and we whipped up this little creation in no time!

Now I will say... the pictures aren't fabulous (dang you yellow lighting!) and there are non of the prep, but it's beyond simple... and it's so satisfying :)

What you'll need:

6-7 potatoes sliced (we did ours a it thicker, but you can do any size)
1 chopped onion
1 lb ground venison (or hamburger, ground turkey... or whatever you prefer)
Lowry's season salt
2 heads of broccoli
3/4 c milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (as much as you prefer)

1) use your prep crew (i.e. Jon) to slice potatoes, cut onions, and split up the broccoli.
2) While your prep crew is doing that, brown the meat with seasoned salt and some garlic powder if you like.
3)layer the potatoes, onions, venison, broccoli and cheese... then layer 'em again
4) stir together milk and cream of mushroom soup and pour on the top of your layers
5) put the crockpot on high and come back from church 3 hours later... and dig in :)






a little salt and pepper on top to taste and you've got yourself a hearty, yummy, satisfying meal :)


And don't forget to enjoy with some Woodhuck Hard Cider...

What are some of your fave crock-pot creations?

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The Melting Pot

Tonight we celebrated our Valentine's Day with a trip to The Melting Pot


I take my fondue seriously


Spinach Artichoke Cheese course... there are no words...







Gettin ready for the main dish!



The Cutest bottle of Tabasco sauce.. ever


Gettin ready to use my dips!
So thankful we split an entree... it was sooooo filling


Jon attempting to use the mini tabasco


Gettin' ready for yummy dessert!




I think the rice krispie's were our favorite part


It was such a great night! And we had so much fun going out together!

Overall, an absolutely fantastic Valentine's Day!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Be Mine

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!


Jon and I have celebrated some pretty fun valentine's days in the past...
our first  he made me my favorite hungarian dish

And as a married couple we celebrated our first Valentine's day in Thailand...
with Jon sick in the bathroom and me watching "The King and I" in or bed

so romantic...


And this Valentine's Day I'm going to a single ladies party :)

Jon has class so I'm opting to hang out with some ladies instead of spending my night alone!
I will say that we have a dinner date tomorrow that I'm way stoked for!

For the ladies night I made a little somethin' special





I had way too much fun decorating these little ones :)

And even though we aren't celebrating tonight.
 a card was due, just the same!

I made this card a bit ago and loved the colors and knowing how much Jon enjoys pink, I figured he'd love it :)



We also spruced up the house with a little more love :)


I am beyond blessed to have the BEST Valentine today :)

Jon is compassionate, smart, talented, goofy, handsome, and so much fun to be around!

How are YOU celebrating Valentine's Day??




Sunday, February 13, 2011

Ch-ch-ch changes

 Today I got Jon geared up to join me again outside at Washington Park in Denver, for yet another 5k :)

This one was vastly different than the last though... let me show you what I mean...


Last Week


This Week
Last Week


This Week


Last Week all bundled up for the teen degree weather


This week... sweatin it out in shorts and a t-shirt in the 60 degree weather :)


Last week, my lungs burning with cold and over-exertion

This week.. my lungs just burning from over-exertion


Both weeks... feelin' awesome and proud afterwards :)
(oh and those black spots on my pink tshirt are my head phones... not awkward pit stains. Just felt the need to clarify)

And while I'm not sure if it was the cold or the fact that I didn't have to worry about slipping every step I made my goal!
I had planned on finishing before 29 minutes and I finished in 28:52!
With 3.18 miles I finished at an avg pace of 9:05/mile!!!
I knocked 12 seconds per mile off my time in 1 week. I was beyond excited!

Another successful race under my belt! Looking forward to more!
And fully looking forward a week that's in the 60's

Saturday, February 12, 2011

The Pioneer Woman

So last year my amazing friend Amanda sent me The Pioneer Woman Cooks. A cookbook we'd been waiting anxiously for... but of course I was in Korea and had no way of getting it, or getting it signed for that matter. And it bummed me out hard core. I have always wanted to meet The Pioneer Woman and this time around I got my chance!

She was in Denver today at a cute little bookshop called Tattered Cover. I truthfully had no idea how many people would be there waiting, and honestly I didn't really feel like taking my own sweet time and finding out the hard way... so we got there bright and early when the bookshop opened at 9. Keep in mind Ree wouldn't be gettin' there until 2! But we brought our homework, and books and all that jazz so we figured we'd be occupied.

And oh was I ...


This greeted me at the top of the stairs!


The hallway everyone waited in, I was 5th in line!
And the desk she would later be signing on...yes I realize I'm a freak. Get over it.

Where we'll all be sitting soon!


Two of my sitting mates! Dia and Ashley two fantastically fun ladies from Texas! The drove all the way up for the signing and were 1 and 2 in line :)
In other words... My kind of people.


The rest of the crew!
Next to me was Katie and her mom Betsy and then Hailey, and ya'll remember Dia and Ashley from before :)

We had quite the time waiting for 4 hours to get our tickets and it was a blast!
We contemplated meeting at the Lodge (Ree's place) unexpectedly, discussed the creepiest things Ree has had said to her during a signing, and if there are any super over obsessive fans.
To which Ashley said in her lovely southern drawl
"Well it's not like I'd ever hurt her or anything"
 perfect.


Dia and her mass quantities of books



gotta make sure she'll sign my name right!


yes, I did check her website while I was waiting in line to see her

yes, I realize how ridiculous this is

yes, I'm getting help.



In the room with my #5 ticket! woot woot!


I don't know how many women came up to me and told me what a fantastic, sweet, awesome, man I had  I couldn't agree more!


I hit up the second row aisle seat.. wanted to get the best picture opportunities


Daughter spotting!!! It was at this point that I started hyperventilating.. as did every other woman in the room


Her daughters and niece were so cute, and her sis in law Missy was gorgeous! So much fun to actually see the people you read about!



The woman of the hour!!! Ahhh so much fun to hear the question an answer time!


She was absolutely fantastic


Of course the first thing I asked was if I could give her a big ole hug... she obliged and told me how much she loved hugs... I was happy to fulfill her hugging needs of the day.


Me being geeky and giving her some knitted wash clothes I made for her. She seemed to like 'em.


Love, Love, Love her!
It was so amazing to meet this woman!


The only problem was the after effect.

Ya know how on Christmas kids get themselves so excited and worked up and then once the present are opened there is a huge let down??

Yeah I was that five year old and meeting Ree was my gift.

I couldn't believe how quickly it all ended!

So to heal my aching heart and mood we just had to hit up 
Yogurtland


Yes, it's amazing and the perfect thing to be fueling my body with right before my 5k tomorrow... what can I say I'm all about healthy choices.

Until next time Pioneer Woman, I had such a fabulous day meeting you!!


If you could meet ANYONE who would it be??