~The ABC's of ME!~

I stole this from a friend-- I thought it was so cute!

A-  Angie is one of my sister in laws
B- Brekyn is my second child
C- Crab Legs is one of my fave foods
D- Diet Coke of course!!!!
E- Eclipse is the book I am reading right now-and taking my time!
F- My husband is a Firefighter and a Framer
G- Green is one of my fave colors
H- Holland is my last name/ I am Happy most of the time (with meds that is!)
I- Italy is my dream vacation!
J- Jon is the LOVE of my life/ we will be married 13 years in July
K- I believe in KARMA and she's a biotch!
L- LoRaine is my middle name (hot isn't it???)
M- Mountain View was where I graduated from c/o 1994!!!
N- Nashville is where I have lived
O- Overton High School was where I went to school
P- Petersen was my maiden name
Q- Quiet when meeting new people(hard to imagine I know)
R- I love to try new RECIPES
S- Sydnie is my first child
T- Tukar keeps me young!
U- Under the Tuscan Sun is one of my fave movies
V- I hate the feel of VELVET!W-
X- Xanadu is one of my favorite movies
Y- You are my friend
Z- I am a Zombee in the mornings until my coffee!

I don't normally tag but I tag everyone who reads this!

~Wednesday Weigh In~

AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!! I gained 2 pounds this week. I have been very good about my eating too. I only ate fast food once and it was a salad with low fat ranch. I have really gotten my family into the spirit of eating good. I have been trying some fun and healthy recipes and have been power walking every night. Maybe I need to work out more! That boob job is looking further and further away!
So here is a healthy recipe I am making this weekend..
Baked French Toast
_____________________________
4 egg whites
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (or almond)
4 1/2-inch-thick slices nonfat whole grain
Pinch of ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine milk, egg whites, vanilla and nutmeg in a shallow bowl.

Dip the bread into the milk mixture, coating both sides.

Spray a baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray or line with a
nonstick baking liner. Arrange bread on baking sheet in a single
layer.

Bake for 6 minutes or until French toast is lightly browned. Turn
bread over and bake for 5 minutes more, or until lightly browned.
Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Information
Calories Per Serving: 79
Fat: .05 g
Cholesterol: .5 mg
Protein: 6 g
Carbohydrates: 13 g
Dietary Fiber: 0 g
Sodium: 161 mg

Weight Watchers Points Per Serving: 2

Let me know if any of you try these recipes and what you think about them.

~Memory Tuesday~

SHARE ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE SUMMER MEMORIES...

One of my most memorable summers was when I was 11 years old and I had gone bowling with my friend Michelle. I hadn't asked my mom so she came looking for me. When she walked into Regals, she came up t me and I knew I was in trouble-- she said "Do you want to be grounded the last 2 weeks we live in Utah??" I was a little surprised. She informed me that we were packing up and moving across the country to Nashville Tn. We had been there on vacation so I knew how it was out there. (Boy was I misinformed)My mom had gotten a wonderful job offer and she couldn't pass it up.
Anyways, we packed up our U-Haul and said our tearful goodbyes to our family and friends and set off for a new adventure. My cousin Jeremy came along with us for the ride. It was a cross country trip that I will never forget. My mom made sure that we really saw the country. We drove up through Wyoming, then down to Denver and across to Kentucky then down to Nashville. Some of the things I saw were

1. The Arch in St Louis.
2. Mark Twains home in Hannibal Missouri
3. Metropolis, IL - The Home of Superman
4. the Mississippi River
5. the worlds oldest wooden hand carved Carousel in Kansas (absolutely beautiful)

6. amazing lightening storms in Kansas (there aint much else to see there)
7. so much more

We arrived in Nashville and found our new home. It was late at night and it was raining. We were in a little bit of a flash flood. The next morning, my mom called the new company she was working for and they sent out some people to unload our U-Haul. We explored our new home with such couriosity. One of the things I was excited about was WE HAD A POOL!
We drove around the city for the next couple of weeks trying to get a feel for the place. We would play this game where we would get lost so that we could find our way home. After a few weeks there, it was time to say goodbye to Jeremy. It was hard because he was our final anchor to home. There we were. Just the two of us in this new exciting city. Starting a whole new life.
We met some amazing friends that summer that have stuck with us through thick and thin. We not only made friends, we made a family. It was one of the most memorable summers that I ever had. Although I am glad we came back, I am truly grateful for the experience of that move and everything it brought to us.

Welcome Little One

I want to welcome the newest member of our family

Braxton Adam Pruitt
June 20th, 2008
9:14 am 8lb 7oz 19 1/2" long

We are so excited to meet him. We are glad that he came into this world without any complications.

Congrats to the Mom and Dad (Hayden and Brent)
They are going to make such good parents.
We love you all XOXOXO

Fun Weekend!

This weekend was a blast! Friday Nightwe went to the Strawberry days Rodeo in Pleasant Grove with our friends Mike and Jenny (long story). We haven't seem them for a long time so it was good to catch up. It was a lot of fun. They had the yummiest strawberries and cream there. I had a hard time with the cattle roping-- How mean it was. The Bulls were my fave for sure. It was probably one of the best rodeos hands down.

Saturday was an eventful day as well. The kids had spent the night at my moms and we had been invited to a birthday party for our friend April.

Our friend Emily planned a fun day of swimming, games and BBQ. It was so fun because there were a lot of friends that we hadn't seen for a while. We all talked about old times and all the trouble we used to get into. I was alughing so hard at soem of the stupid stuff we used to do. Wow! I can't believe more of us didn't end up in jail (or the morgue)

Sunday was a pretty realxing day. After church, the kids went swimming for a while then we walked the golf course-- 25 balls this time. My kids think it is pretty cool to find balls! A lot of $$$ wasted if you ask me.

~Wednesday Weigh In~

Ok so here is the results of this week. Drum roll please......................
I lost 1 whole pound!! Yeah. I was actually pretty good this week. There were a few slip ups but I have been eating good and getting some exercise. I had a hard night on Friday (only a little part of Paradise Pie!) I am glad I didn't get to escape to Chili's because I would have been very bad!!!
Still trying-- Here is a good low fat low calorie recipe that we are actually having for dinner tonight!

French Dip Sandwiches (slow cooker)
__________________________
1 (3-4 lb) boneless chuck roast (I cut most of the fat off)
1/2 c soy sauce
1 beef bouillon cube
1 bay leaf
3-4 peppercorns
1 t rosemary leaves
1 t thyme
1 t garlic powder
12 Rolls

Cut roast in half; place it in the slow cooker. Combine soy sauce with all the other ingredients, pour over roast. Add enough water to almost cover roast. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour then on low for 6 hours. Remove roast from cooker reserving broth. Shred meat with forks and spoon onto rolls. Use reserved juice for dipping.

PER SERVING
Calories- 373
Fat- 7.5 g
Cholesterol- 91 mg
Sodium- 979 mg

You can also use an Au Jus packet. It contains 5 calories, no fat and only 270 mg of sodium. I found that this was a bit healthier so I will be using this method.
~~~~ I also added some fat free cream cheese, some onions and mushrooms to make Phili's and it was delicious!!!~~~~~~

Here is a good dessert also-- very healthy. and yummy!

Cheesecake Brownie
_______________________

Ingredients:
One box Pillsbury Moist Supreme Reduced Sugar Cake Mix, Devil's Food
One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin
6 oz. fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1 tsp. Coffee-mate Fat Free or Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer, dissolved in 2 tbsp. warm water
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix and pumpkin. Stir until completely blended (the mixture will remain very thick). Spread batter into a large baking pan (about 9" X 13") sprayed with nonstick spray, and set aside. Combine softened cream cheese with Splenda, Coffee-mate mixture, and vanilla extract. Using a whisk, mix vigorously until completely blended, smooth and lump-free. Spoon cheesecake mixture over the brownie batter, and use a knife to swirl it in. (Don't worry if your swirl isn't perfect -- your brownies will taste delicious no matter what!) Place pan in the oven, and bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Allow to cool, and then cut into 16 pieces. MAKES 16 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 1 brownie
Calories: 133
Fat: 2g
Sodium: 312mg
Carbs: 29g
Fiber: 1.5g
Sugars: 8g
Protein: 3g

FOUR!!

I got a call from my husband yesterday and he asks me if I wan to go hit a bucket of balls??? Are you ok?? I asked. He took me golfing once and I was aweful. It was about 3 years ago and he told me he wouldn't take me again until I got lessons from a pro. Well that hasn't happened.
So I guess he decided that since we now live on a golf course, that maybe I should learn. I went over with Jon and Mark to practice. I have a hard time actually hitting the ball. After some great pointers from both of the guys, I HIT THE BALL!! I was so proud of myself. I actually managed to hit quite a few of them too. It was nice to just run away for an hour and take out some agressions on a ball! I can't wait to go again. (if they let me)

~Memory Tuesday~

Describe your first paying job. What was the salary?

My first paying job was when I was 14 years old and I went to work for the summer with my mom. It was when we lived in Nashville. My mom worked for this company that refurbished apartments and she was the decorator. I went to work on the demolition crew. I was quite the little worker. It helped a bit that I worked with a bunch a boys and I was trying to prove myself. I even had a crush on this one named Joel. He was quite a hottie too. It was fun because we were working on this complex that was right by the lake, so for lunch, we would go swimming and cool off. If I can remember right.... I made $5.00 and hour. It was way more than minimum wage and I was only 14. It was fun-- shortly after that I went to work at Little Ceasars with all of my friends. That was way fun too.

FINALLY SUMMER!

I am so excited that Summer is finally here. The sun is out! the AC is on and it feels so good outside! We decided to take advantage of the weather this weekend because who knows how long it will last here in Utah. Saturday morning we woke up early and went to the airport to pick up our summer visitor, our nephew Bryce from Denver. He is staying with us for the summer and working for Jon. I love having him here. He is such a good kid and the kidslove him. Tukar lobbed onto him imedietly. He calls him Nee. Why?? no idea! So then we went over to our friends house to help them pour concrete. That stubborn Jon got down and dirty to help out Jeff because Jeff is always there to help us out. After it was all done, the men were hot and sweaty. We decided it would be nice to go SWIMMING!! AHHHH! The water was great and so was the weather. FINALLY! All of the kids had a blast! And of course I forgot my camera. So I will post pics later!!

YO! Crop night at my crib!!

Ok so I have to kinda of break this story down. Some of you know this, but every month I get together with my girlie friends and crop at someones house til the wee hours of the morning. We make kits for each other and exchange them there. These girls are extrodinary! Some of them even have been published in mags! WOW! I have no idea what I am doing in it sometimes. I get a little intimidated. They are really patient with me. Then when it is someones birthday, we do something a little extra! It all started in February with my gorilla and love day. We always have so many laughs. This month was no exception. It was Jamie's birthday recently so we had a little thing for her. The joke is that she grew up in Cali and she loves gangsta rap music. So we had a gangsta rap party for her. Amy and Malinda bought us all grills, bling necklaces and got Jamie a FLAVA FLAV clock. I could not control myself. I was laughing so hard. Theh MC SLICE came out. Wow!
So usually it is a good time for me to get stuff done. I have no kids, tonz of inspiration and the goods to work. Ok so I got absolutly nothing done but conversation. Our friends Midge and Madge came to join the night and we all sat around and laughed our butts off.
I just have to tell all of these girls how much I love and cherish each one of them and their friendship. I am blessed to have such talented and wonderful friends. You girls ROCK! (we miss ya Lisa and Missie!)

I'VE BEEN TAGGED!

So here is how to play this game of tag: post these rules on your blog, answer these 15 questions about yourself on your blog. List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, and 3 random surprising facts. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving them a comment on their blog


3 JOYS

my Kids
my husband
my family

3 FEARS

my kids being hurt or sick
losing Jon in any way
someone in my family dying

3 GOALS

Lose weight (get a boob job)
raise my kids to know respect
build my savings

3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS/COLLECTIONS

the Twilight series
scrapbooking
cleaning

3 SURPRISING FACTS

I still sleep with the blanket that my mom made for me when she was pregnant. I call him my pooh and he is very scary looking to anyone but me.

I have a fetish with my feet being dry. It drives me crazy. Jon always asks me if I am carving my feet? Gross I know.

I can't sit indian style. I have to sit backwards.

IM TAGGING Amy, Madge, Hayden, Kelly, Emily

~Wednesday Weigh In

I have been trying (well sort of) to lose weight for a while now with no change. Actually I have gained a little since I started. So I challenged my friend Amy to a challenge today! We are currently at the same weight and we have the same goal weight. So we are ON LIKE DONKEY KONG!! Her reward for reaching her goal is a tummy tuck and mine is a boob job! So we have decided that we will work hard so that we both reach our goal and recieve our reward and re-coop together. So every Wednesday, I will have my Wednesday Weigh In and post a good healthy recipe to try that week.
I don't want to starve myself, but I want to eat something of value.
So here is this weeks recipe, try it if you would like!Let me know what you think.


Crunchy, Low-Fat Summer Chicken Salad Recipe
This salad makes a nice, light lunch when served over top of lettuce greens. It also makes a nice salad filling for pita bread. One of my summer favorites! Prep and cooking times do not include time to cook chicken.

10 min | 10 min prep | SERVES 4 -6
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 teaspoon curry powder (more or less to taste)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 dash garlic powder
salt and black pepper, to taste
4 ounces green seedless grapes, halved lengthwise

Mix together chicken, water chestnuts, and celery.
Blend together sour cream, mayonnaise, curry powder, soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Pour over chicken mixture and mix to combine.
Stir in grapes.
Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Nutritional facts
_________________
Calories 104
Calories from Fat 13 (12%)
Amount Per Serving %DV
Total Fat 1.5g 2%
Saturated Fat 0.5g 2%
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 6mg 2%
Sodium 362mg 15%
Potassium 254mg 7%
Total Carbohydrate 21.9g 7%
Dietary Fiber 2.7g 10%
Sugars 10.6g
Protein 2.6g 5%
Vitamin A 329mcg 6%
Vitamin B6 0.1mg 7%
Vitamin B12 0.0mcg 0%
Vitamin C 5mg 8%
Vitamin E 1mcg 5%
Calcium 60mg 6%
Iron 0mg 4%

~Memory Tuesday~

Was there any place in your house that scared you? Any place where you felt especially cozy?

THE BASEMENT!! Well the storage room in the basement at my grandparents house scared the crap out of me. It was this small little space that went back under the stairs and we had food storage in it. When I was younger, we never went down stairs except to play. My bedroom was down there but I would always sleep upstairs. Now when I was a kid, there were 2 things that scared me so bad that I would have nightmares. One, Gremlins. I hated those little things and I always thought that there were those pods back in that room under the stairs. I had this little system that I had tricked my mind into thinking would work, "if I ran up the stairs as fast as I could and hit the top stair, I would be safe." Ok, so a little corny yes, but you know what the funny part of it is???? I still do it to this day. I know, I'm a freak.
The second thing I was scared of (and still am) is E.T. He scared the bigeesees out of me. He lived in the storage room too with the gremlin pods. I cannot see watch either of these shows to this day and my kids get a kickout of that. I have tried, it is just some thing I can't do. It was a little frightening to find these pics. NIGHTMARES FOR A WEEK NOW!!! GOTTA SLEEP WITH THE LIGHT ON!!

The place I felt the most at ease is the family room at my grandparents house. I lived there most of my life off and on. Anyway, this was the tv room at the back of the hose and it had this giant window that would let in the light and you could see the most amazing view of Timp. I remember as a kid, we would break out the popcorn popper and pour our drinks from the glass returnable bottles, (my fave was my grandpa's TAB), light a fire and watch movies. In the summer we would have the giant windows open and the breeze would waft through.

Letting go!

I just had to let my little girl go. Sydnie left for girls camp this morning and I became an emotional wreck. I am sitting here wiping away the tears as we speak. I have been pretty good with the milestones and being excited for them, but this one hit me. As I was sitting there watching her through the lens of my camera get excited and setting off to meet new friends, I sat and thought of my baby girl and how much she has grown up. She is a young woman now. I am so excited for her and the experience she is going to have this week. I never got to have this experience because the first year, my birthday was a week later and they wouldn't let me go, then when we lived in Nashville, they didn't have girls camp. So I have to say that I am a little jealous. But I know she is going to have so much fun and this is a perfect opportunity for her to build her own testimony of the church.
As I was sitting there being the "mom that always takes pictures", she came over to me and said" ok mom you can go now!" That was it. That was the pivotal moment in her life when she let go as well. She is becoming such an independent girl and it is hard for me. But I know that she makes smart choices and I can't hold her hand and make decisions for her all of her life.

PED, Burgers, and Jammin to tunes!

We had such an eventful weekend.
It was the annual celebration for Eagle Mountain called Pony Express Days. It is a fun week packed full of stuff to do. It started for us on Thursday when we went to the carnival! This was going to be the only family day that we had this weekend Jon and I were going to be very busy and we wanted to spend some time with the girls. We let them go on a few rides. One of them was the Zipper. Brekyn was so excited to go on this ride because she was too small to go the last time they had this ride here. Well her ride got cut a little short because the little boy that she went with wanted to get off and she couldn't ride alone. She was a little upset but I told her there would be plenty of opportunities to go on it this weekend. Sydnie got a little sick and when we got home she SWORE she wouldn't ride rides anymore. Ok Syd.

Friday came and that is when the madness started. We went over to the park to set up the Firehouse Grill. This is a booth that the Fire Department Association does at the carnival to help raise money for them to purchase new gear and things. Well Jon was voted in as the Vice President so he had to do a lot to help prepare for this. They got the grills burnin around noon and the burgers were flyin! It sounds kinda funny, but people wait all year for the Firehouse Grill and we had heard that the organizers of the carnival booth had gotten some complaints when they weren't there on Thursday. So from noon til about 8 p.m., we did nothing but take orders and grill burgers. I don't know what it is about the burgers, but they are so delicious! Jon grilled almost all of the burgers (and we're talking over 500 burgers) and he did an awesome job. No complaints! It was a very long day.
The next morning came early. We woke up and got ready for the parade. It has been a tradition for our family for the last 8 years to ride on the firetruck in the parade. We have a lot of stories from it to. Everything from accidents on the truck, to ambushes from Mike. We throw out candy, plastic hats, (and when it's warm enough we throw Popsicles - not this year though) It is fun and the kids love it! Tukar even rode in it when he wasn't even a month old! It is so cute to see how much kids respect firefighters. They wave and just light up. After the parade, it was back to do some more grillin! There were plenty more burgers cooked (thanks to Jon and Chief)
then we took off to set up at the concert. This is another tradition for the fire department and our family. Every year at the concert that the city puts on for PED, the Firehouse Grill is there. We always help get out the orders, then we jam out a bit to the bands playing, then we watch the fireworks. For quite a few years, I would have to watch the fireworks by myself because Jon was one of them lighting them off.
This year was a lot of fun. They had Little Texas, Restless Heart, adn Blackhawk perform. The opening band was a local band called J Marc Bailey. The new drummer for the band is a former EM Firefighter and one of my friends. I also know J Marc and his wife Jill and I must say, AWESOME SINGER! He has a christmas album that I gave to my family one year. It is the only Christmas music that Jon likes to listen too, and if you are ever around him at Christmas time, you may hear him singing a song about "Christmas Kiss".

We finished with the grill, cleaned up and then watched the show. Blackhawk was probably my fave of the night. I just love their music. They started the fireworks and Restless Heart was singing. It was a fun night, but we all were tired and ready for this weekend to be over.<
We both about died when our heads hit the pillow. I even fell asleep with my glasses on and the tv on too. Sunday...... well we had the best of intentions to go to church, but even 11 am came too early for us. Jon and I slept in til noon and my sweet girls watched Tukar so we could. We were quite lazy today, but after 3 days of go go go, we needed to be. I did have the honor of being invited to a tea party with Brekyn and Sydnie. Well Tukar insisted that he join us also. My kids spend a lot of time with nana during this weekend and she got Bee a new tea set. It was so delightful. We had milk with our option of chocolate or sugar. It was accomanied by a wonderful cookie. I love the little moments like this.
I do have to say a special THANK YOU to my friends and family that came to help. I love you all and Jon and I appreciate it so much!

My Random!

Brekyn is so funny. She comes up with the funniest things just out of the blue so I call her Random. We were sitting on my bed this morning and she was telling me a story. I asked her "how do you know all of this" she replied to me, "mom, I have this pink squishy thing in my head that works!" I had to laugh. She is always coming up with "random" thoughts. One day we were all sitting in the kitchen and out of the blue she said..." I wonder what Trauma would look like if he was human." Wow! I had never thought of anything like that and she comes up with it just like that. She makes me laugh all of the time.

My little helper!

Tukar can be such a good helper. He cracks me up. He came to me the other day and said (in Tukar words) "poon down ba bye" Well my first instincts were to check everywhere a "poon" can disappear.... THE POTTY! Tukar has developed an obsession with flushing the potty. Last week our potty wouldn't work and after a hard effort of plunging and buying an industrial strength plunger, a pencil popped up and the potty was fixed. Well I had figured out that the "poon" went ba bye in the potty also. AAAAHHHHH! I tried to plunge it out but a spoon was a little harder to get out. I thought, crap I have to take the potty off to retrieve it. Now, I am pretty smart at some things, but plumbing is not one of them. So with my mom on the phone with me, (because the woman can do anything) she walked me step by step to taking off the potty. I wanted to have it done by the time Jon came home. I like to show him a bit of independence and he gets proud of me even if it is just for a second. So after removing bolts and trying to pry the stationary potty off the floor (with no luck) I had one of those moments when the little light bulb pops above your head. I thought, "maybe I should reach down the hole and see if I can grab it" DUH!!!!! There it was. The "poon down ba bye". I told my mom and she said, "well I thought you would have thought of doing that first" I think getting older is getting to me. My brain farts a little more than it used to.
So now our potty is in PERFECTLY working condition. That boy of mine keeps me on my feet at all times. When he's quiet.... watch out. He is such a mischievous little tike. He loves to help me do everything. When I am cleaning, I give him the pledge duster and he dusts for me. Great, one less thing for me to do that is safe for him! Tukar is getting so big and so fast. This is the fun time when he learns something new everyday. He is so much fun to have around. He keeps ALL of us on our toes. Even the dog.
Back to being my helper. Last night we were making fun summer cookies hoping it would make summer come and stay.(don't worry, I washed my hands very well after the potty incident)
Anyway, I was rolling out the dough to make cookies and Tukar took the cookie cutter and started "helping". What a nice boy. Well, to make my cookie making time speed up a little, I gave Tukar some dough of his own. I would peek at him from the corner of my eye and see his imagination at work. He was rolling it out, and cutting it into shapes. It was so cute. It was nice because it kept him occupied for quite a while. Wow, I might have to invest in some play dough and for any of you that know me-- I do not allow play dough in my house! I know, I am a mean mom. That rule was set after many times of cleaning it out of my carpet.
So after a fun night of making cookies, here is our final result.Sydnie helped me decorate them and we took them out to the neighbors. Hopefully these nice flowers will make the rain stop and the sun come out!! If not, they sure were a yummy way of trying!

Sneak Peek!!

I found this and was so excited. I didn't get the new Eclipse book yet. I am in the middle of reading it. I do want an iron on decal for my TEAM--Edward of course! I am counting down the days!



This is a statement from the author....
I'm so excited about the August 2 release of Breaking Dawn — I can't wait to finally be able to discuss everything that happens! No more secrets! To help whet your appetite, Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive sneak peak of the first chapter of Breaking Dawn. The entire first chapter is available in the Eclipse Special Edition, out tomorrow, which will also reveal the cover of Breaking Dawn and have Team Edward and Team Jacob iron-on decals. Here it is, I hope you enjoy!

Stephenie Meyer

___________________________________
1. ENGAGED

NO ONE IS STARING AT YOU, I promised myself. No one is staring at you. No one is staring at you.

But, because I couldn't lie convincingly even to myself, I had to check.

As I sat waiting for one of the three traffic lights in town to turn green, I peeked to the right — in her minivan, Mrs. Weber had turned her whole torso in my direction. Her eyes bored into mine, and I flinched back, wondering why she didn't drop her gaze or look ashamed. It was still considered rude to stare at people, wasn't it? Didn't that apply to me anymore?

Then I remembered that these windows were so darkly tinted that she probably had no idea if it was even me in here, let alone that I'd caught her looking. I tried to take some comfort in the fact that she wasn't really staring at me, just the car.

My car. Sigh.

I glanced to the left and groaned. Two pedestrians were frozen on the sidewalk, missing their chance to cross as they stared. Behind them, Mr. Marshall was gawking through the plate glass window of his little souvenir shop. At least he didn't have his nose pressed up against the glass. Yet.

The light turned green and, in my hurry to escape, I stomped on the gas pedal without thinking — the normal way I would have punched it to get my ancient Chevy truck moving.

Engine snarling like a hunting panther, the car jolted forward so fast that my body slammed into the black leather seat and my stomach flattened against my spine.

''Arg!'' I gasped as I fumbled for the brake. Keeping my head, I merely tapped the pedal. The car lurched to an absolute standstill anyway.

I couldn't bear to look around at the reaction. If there had been any doubt as to who was driving this car before, it was gone now. With the toe of my shoe, I gently nudged the gas pedal down one half millimeter, and the car shot forward again.

I managed to reach my goal, the gas station. If I hadn't been running on vapors, I wouldn't have come into town at all. I was going without a lot of things these days, like Pop-Tarts and shoelaces, to avoid spending time in public.

Moving as if I were in a race, I got the hatch open, the cap off, the card scanned, and the nozzle in the tank within seconds. Of course, there was nothing I could do to make the numbers on the gauge pick up the pace. They ticked by sluggishly, almost as if they were doing it just to annoy me.

It wasn't bright out — a typically drizzly day in Forks, Washington — but I still felt like a spotlight was trained on me, drawing attention to the delicate ring on my left hand. At times like this, sensing the eyes on my back, it felt as if the ring were pulsing like a neon sign: Look at me, look at me.

It was stupid to be so self-conscious, and I knew that. Besides my dad and mom, did it really matter what people were saying about my engagement? About my new car? About my mysterious acceptance into an Ivy League college? About the shiny black credit card that felt red-hot in my back pocket right now?

''Yeah, who cares what they think,'' I muttered under my breath.

(c) 2008 by Stephenie Meyer, reprinted with permission from the Eclipse Special Edition published by Little, Brown and Company.

~Memory Tuesday~

IF YOU HAD TO EAT THE SAME MEAL OVER AND OVER AGAIN FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Hands down.. Italian food. I am a card junkie and I am a sucker for a good pasta meal. I really think I was Italian in a former life because everything about being Italian fascinates me. The food, the drink, the family values, and yes even the mob. I would have loved to live on the old Al Capone days. My dream in life is to go to Italy, like Tuscany or somewhere, and just bask in the sun and eat pasta! Here is a recipe for one of my favorite pasta dishes. It may not be true Italian but it is a good pasta dish!



Chicken Fettuccine
________________________

VERY Delicious Casserole. Very fattening so I try to use fat free and reduced fat where I can.
Ingredients:
8 oz fettuccine noodles (or any desired noodles) cooked and drained
1 can mushroom soup
1 8oz pkg cream cheese (can use fat free)
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1 c whipping cream
1/2 c butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 c Parmesan cheese
1 c mottza cheese
2 1/2 c cooked cubed chicken

topping:
1/3 c bread crumbs
2 tbsp butter melted
1-2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cook and drain noodles. place in the bottom of a lrg well greased casserole dish. In a big pot combine soup, cream cheese, mushrooms whip cream butter and garlic. Stir over med heat until well blended. Reduce heat to low and add all of the cheese.
Stir until melted. Then add the chicken. Turn off heat.
then pour over noodles. Add topping and cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes then remove foil and cook 5 more minutes.
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes
Category: Main Meals Servings: 4

These should be againt the LAW!

Ok so I am really trying to lose weight and my dumb self bought some of these to use as gifts. Weeeelllll, they didn't get used. I had decided to do something else so I had these sitting on my cupboard. I was just sitting here at my computer one night and I could hear something whispering to me...."eat me, I am so delicious!" Well I didn't know what to do. I mean it just kept whispering to me and I wanted it to stop so I gave in. I took this little package of pure joy and mixed it up with a tablespoon of water, stuck it in the nuker for 45 seconds (yes I said 45 seconds) and WALLA!! I took a bite and the whispering stopped. The chocolate melted in my mouth like butter! And it was just enough (enough for only me that is). After I sat in amazement for a moment and reflected on what an amazing experience I had just had, I remembered something... DAMN! I AM SUPPOSED TO BE ON A DIET! That darn little thing just MADE me cheat! But oh it was so gooooood! Why are things that aren't good for you just so dang good????
So I have made a promise to myself to put my blinders on when I walk through the isles of the grocery store so that I will not be tempted to bring that possessed thing into my house because I can't stand to hear it whisper at me anymore. They shoudl really make these illegal. It would make it so much easier for me.

Happy Birthday Lisa!

I just want to wish my sweet sister-in-law, Lisa, Happy Birthday! I hope you have a good day and we love ya tonz!Make sure Bea gets you something super nice!

Nice weekend!

I love nice relaxing and fun weekends that are spent with family and friends and this was definitely one of them. Friday was the last day of school and after the girls got home and were screaming "NO MORE SCHOOL!!" about 50 times, we headed down to Spanish Fork to go to lunch with my mom and her friend Jon. We went to The Pizza Factory and it was delish. I had been craving my zucchini noodles and they were so up to my expectation. Later that day I went with Tara to help her get Bunco prizes.
Saturday morning, we woke up early and headed over to help the firefighters make breakfast for the city. They did a fundraiser to help the department and I think Jon cooked about 500 pancakes himself. He isn't much of a pancake eater, but he did a good job cooking them. After we cleaned up, the kids were dying of heat and asked if they could go swimming. So we called Nana and asked if they could come swim in the pool. She was more than happy to have them come over. This was the perfect time for Jon and I to spend some time together. So we decided to go to the Parade of Homes. Jon had never been and he didn't know how fun it would be to just walk around other houses. I told him it was fun and just come along with me because I really wanted to go. What a trooper. After we had lunch at our Fave place (Taco Amigo) we headed for the first house. Surprise to him, Jon enjoyed himself. He is funny though because he picks out all of the flaws with the building. We went to this Million $$$ house and there was a cupboard that you couldn't use because there was a light in the way. DUH!! Only Jon.
After a long afternoon and many booties later (not Jons fave) we finally saw a house that was worth seeing. It was in American Fork and I absolutely loved it. It had a castle motif and there were so many details that I loved about it. Including my favorite rooms, the tanning room and the scrapbook room. What else does any house need besides maybe a bed and a potty.
Then we went home and got ready for BUNCO!! We play couples bunco with 5 other couples. It is nice for us to get together as adults and just hang out and talk. We trade off who is in charge that month. This month was Jeff and Tara. She did such a good job. She made Hamburgers and yummy spinach salad and had my new favorite fruit with dip (2 die for). It was so much fun. After some good food and a lot of talking to catch up what has been happening with our lives lately, we heard the dinger! ONES!!! Well, I hate to toot my own horn but, WE WON!! .My husband kicks butt at Bunco. We ended up with a combined High score and the most Buncos with 8 (6 of them being Jons-like I said- He kicks butt) I was excited to win any of the prizes because they were all wonderful, but we ended up with the BBQ set. It had a plethora of item inside a metal basket that covers your food (way cute) including tools, an apron, towels, spices and corn holders! I loved IT! We did have a little bit of trauma that night because Jon was hurting, but we got over it and snuggled.
Sunday morning, we woke up and went to breakfast with some friends of ours, Jeff and Tala, that moved to Idaho that we haven't seen in about 2 years. It was so good to catch up and talk about old times. They recently went through the temple and we were talking about the experiences that led them to that. We are so proud of them and it is so neat that they have had that experience as a family. They had their 4 kids sealed to them. Wow. We planned a trip to go up and see them soon, then said our goodbyes. I loved seeing them.
When we got home, Jon wanted to go for a ride on the wheeler. Brekyn was sick and Tukar was laying down for a nap, so what a perfect time to go. We called Jeff and Tara and they packed up and went with us. We went on a nice ride then stopped to shoot a little. I have to say, I love shooting targets!
Then we came home and cooked up some means steaks and then went to bed early. It was Nice to just relax. I know it sounds like we were go go go the whole weekend, but it was a relaxing go because it was on our own time.

I also want to say Happy Birthday to Fathead too. We have been friends for many years and I love ya tonz. Thanks for always being there for us