My Favorite Things

I cleared up my facebook profile, but I didn't want to lose my list of favorite things (it just keeps getting longer as I discover more things that I like), so I decided to blog it.

So here it is, the by-no-means-comprehensive list of my favorite things.

the smell and feel of laundry right out of the dryer

Tarheel basketball (and BYU sports, of course)

Mama's Dinnerbell (the Hiatt family cookbook)

the smell of evergreen trees at Christmas

our chore chart with the sassy girl sticker

laying with my head at the foot of my bed

anything cinnamon flavored or scented
the Appalachian Mountains in the fall

Sacrament Meeting back scratches
hearing Southern accents in Utah

having my hair played with
my walk home from school

Grandma Tookie's kitchen

editing papers with Jazlyn

Mama's sourdough bread
having a clean apartment
getting letters in the mail

long sleeved tee shirts
having my feet tickled
Parley's voice change

the Spanish language

Mary's skinny mirror

NC thunderstorms

handsome men

being barefoot

holding hands

saltwater taffy
pretty voices

pretty faces

car dancing

high heels

polka dots

well water

campfires

chocolate

Latin pop

fireworks

flip flops

dancing

running

hiking

music

snow

life

Cinnamon life.

Back on Track

After re-reading that last post, I realized that I haven't actually blogged about love in a while. That was supposed to be the whole purpose of this thing, wasn't it? Probably I just get sidetracked sometimes and have funny stories to tell instead of just blogging about love. But really, when I am happy and laughing, isn't that what love is all about, too? In fact, I kind of like this one boy right now, and probably my favorite thing about him is that when he laughs, he means it. Like, even when maybe it's not that funny, he goes all out and throws his head back and turns his face red and everything. Everyone should laugh like that! This life is too short not to absolutely love it.

But anyway, for future reference, usually if I am blogging about something other than flat out love, it's because I just love the way life is.

Here are just a few things that have happened recently that let me know I'm loved:

1. People have told me.

2. I talked with Mama and Kelsey on the phone for a couple of hours the other night because I got a little homesick and lonely, and Kelsey started crying because she misses me. It made me cry, too.

3. I went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house last week. It is absolutely beautiful. And, in the House of the Lord, I always feel His love for me so strongly. Especially in the Celestial Room and the Sealing Room, I felt so close to His Spirit and I know in my head and feel in my heart the truth of the Gospel.

¡Que maravillosa es amor!

Summer 2009! Where have you been all my life?

I just want to take a minute and ramble a little bit about how awesome last weekend was and this week has been and will be.

Friday we had the day off of work. So I lay out in the sun all day and swam and just had a great time. Plus I hardly got any sunburn (I've worked up a pretty decent tan for my fair-skinned self)!

And then Saturday, about 5:00, my roommates and a bunch of friends in our ward went and got food for a picnic and then took it to Rock Canyon Park so we could wait to watch the fireworks. We ate, played Wiffle Ball and Loaded Questions, some people played catch, some people rolled down the hill, some people played Texas Hold'em with Skittles as chips, and some people just sat there and talked with friends and had an awesome time. And when we watched the fireworks, even though they weren't that amazing because we were too far away for the noises to be loud enough, I got really nostalgic (I always do) and extremely grateful for everything in my life. Not just the freedoms we are granted in this country, not just my family, not just my friends, but even the bad stuff. Because that makes days like my day on Saturday even more fantastic.

And even when it took us an hour and a half to get home in all the traffic, it was a joyous experience because Mary rolled all the windows down and we played and sang music as loudly as we could. Everything from T-Swift to the Dixie Chicks to the Aladdin soundtrack. Really.

Sunday was also fabulous, as it was fast Sunday and the testimony meetings in my ward are always a treat. Plus, I got to pay tithing because I finally have an income! And especially after having been in three different temples within the last month, I am so grateful for that opportunity.

Monday morning I went running with Shelly (all the way to the MTC and back!) and then to work, and then to Brother Clegg's home for FHE. After eating the amazing food and talking with some good friends, I got to lose in Knock-Out a time or two . . . or five . . . and then jump on the trampoline (my favorite part was when Billy and I jumped off and landed spread-eagle on the ground and then Seth saw us and told us we looked dead). And then we started playing this game where it was probably actually called "King of the Tramp," but it turned into "See if anyone can knock Katelyn off of the trampoline." And I beat Colin, Adrian, Dan, Brother Clegg, and Scott. But then Cory beat me. But only because I hurt my knee kind of bad because I landed with stiff legs and then I was trying to be too aggressive and ended up kicking my own foot out from underneath myself. So, someday, there will be a re-match. And I will win.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to the rest of this week, too! Tonight, Jazlyn and I are going to the temple, tomorrow is Mary's birthday party (Brick Oven and kickball!!!), Thursday we are babysitting Macey so Brother and Sister Griffiths can go out, Friday is Adam and Britni's reception, and Saturday we're hiking Timp! I should have some pretty amazing pictures to post once this week is over. I can't wait :)

Have I mentioned yet that I love summer?

Crock pot Lemon Chicken

So the dinner was a hit!
At least, I thought it was fabulous. And everyone else ate all of theirs, so I'll take the liberty to call it a "hit" if I want. :)

Here's the recipe! Try it. You'll like it.

Ingredients:
1 broiler-fryer,cut up, or about 3 1/2 pounds chicken pieces (I used 3 large chicken breasts, cut up into bite-size pieces. This was perfect for serving four people.)
1 teaspoon crumbled dry leaf oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup water (I ended up adding more water so I'd have more juices for gravy, so you may want to go ahead and use an entire cup of water.)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Preparation:Wash chicken; pat dry. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Sprinkle half of garlic and oregano over the chicken. Melt butter in frying pan and brown chicken on all sides. Transfer chicken to crockpot. Sprinkle with remaining oregano and garlic. Add water to slow cooker. Cover, cook on LOW (200°) for 7 to 8 hours. Add lemon juice last hour.

To make gravy:
Remove the juices from the crock pot, putting them in a small saucepan on medium heat. In a separate container, mix 1/2 cup cold water (very important that it's cold) with 1 tablespoon cornstarch. The cornstarch should dissolve completely.
Slowly pour some of the cornstarch mixture in with the chicken juices, stirring constantly.
*Important!* You will probably only use about half of the cornstarch mixture! The cornstarch will not start to thicken the gravy until it has been heated up, so be patient. When it reaches the desired thickness, remove from heat and serve (or turn stove down to low heat to keep it warm until ready to serve). The gravy is especially good over mashed potatoes.

Nauseated vs. Nauseous

This morning, I woke up at 5:30.
I did this willingly, because Jazlyn and I are cooking dinner tonight for our dear friends, Rob and Natalie. We decided we wanted to do something in the crock pot, since we both get home from work after five, and we set the dinner time for six so that Natalie can get back home by 7:30 for something she has to do this evening. I looked up crock pot recipes for chicken (it took me straight to "southern foods" on about.com . . . . What's that all about? Crock pots are pretty universal, I thought. Oh well), and found the one that had the fewest ingredients that we'd have to go buy, since we are both poor right now. We found a recipe for lemon chicken, and it sounded fantastic. Plus we had everything except for garlic and lemon juice (and wine or sherry, but it also said we could just use water. So that's what we did), and we were able to get garlic from our brothers! So Jazlyn went and grabbed some lemon juice from the grocery store, and we were all set for this morning.

Well, last night, Brad and Natalie (different Natalie from the one who's coming for dinner; this one's going to be my sister-in-law. The other one used to be my roommate and is now living in Spanish Fork with her parents) came over and hung out for a while. Brad worked on my computer and got some things running a bit faster, and told me how I could make it work even better, which, of course, means spending some money. But it will be worth it. Sometimes this dadgum thing can make me so frustrated!

Anyway, before they left, I was just sitting around, washing some dishes so we could have some juice, and I smelled something awful. I couldn't figure out what it was exactly (I knew I had smelled it before, but I couldn't place it), nor could I see where it could be coming from. Then Natalie came over and said, "There's something leaking from your fridge." Sure enough, I looked, and there was green juice seeping out from under the fridge.

Pickle juice.

Now, it kind of bugged me, but since I knew what it was it didn't smell so bad to me anymore. I cleaned up what mess was already on the floor, wrote a note telling my roommates what that stench was, and went to bed, figuring I'd clean up the remaining mess in the morning.

Well, I woke up this morning to start making the food, and I got near the fridge, only to smell the pickle juice again. I looked, and it had seeped out some more! And to this moment I still can't figure out where the source is; it doesn't look like it's coming from anywhere inside the fridge, because there's nothing dripped on the inside. It just looks like we had pickle juice in our pipes, so where water normally leaks, pickle juice is coming out instead.

Anyway, I was able to stomach that smell, but once I started preparing the food, I had to chop up the garlic. And get out some oregano. Now that I've been awake for a while, it all smells fantastic! But smelling it first thing as I woke up, it just turned my morning stomach like crazy. I seriously thought I was going to have to wake Jazlyn up and make her fix the food, because I could barely stand to smell all that at once. I wonder if that may be indicative of my vulnerability to morning sickness or intense sensitivity to smells when I'm pregnant someday? I hope not.

You know, I usually say that it hasn't been a good day if you haven't had one good miniature heart attack (the kind where someone jumps out and scares the poo out of you and then you get to laugh afterward, or situations similar to that. Just a good adrenaline rush or something), but I suppose surviving a strong wave of nausea could make it a day worth living too.

Which brings me to a small rant.

I don't know how many times I hear the word "nauseous" used improperly (in my opinion).

People say, "I feel nauseous."

Probably due to its being commonly used, "nauseous" seems to have become accepted as correct in that context. But do people realize that, when they say that, my mind makes me think that that person feels nasty? Like, maybe he or she smells really bad and could make someone feel nauseated if they got a whiff of him or her?

Nauseous is the word for things that make one feel nauseated. For example:

The smell of pickle juice, garlic, and oregano was nauseous to me.

vs.

I felt nauseated by the smell of pickle juice, garlic, and oregano.

So anyhow, I'm off the soapbox for today. Feel free to speak how you want, but know that I will feel free to interpret it how I want. :)

Also, if the food turns out any good, I'll blog with a link to the recipe.