Winner winner Chicken dinner!

Let me start off by saying I never win anything. Ever. So much to the point that I stop even trying because I'm just like "ehh...whatevs." You know the feeling. Second, my best friend is getting married next week (HOLLAH) so you can only guess what that means....ARIZONA NEXT WEEK! I'm so stoked to get out of this horrendous cold weather and see some sunshine that actually has some heat packed into it! Of course, I'm also starting to get sick. It hit me yesterday, and today it's gotten worse. I think it's just a cold, but I've been downing mucinex like a mother to try and nip it in the butt. 

But back to contests. Dan works with a lady who is a part of this blog: http://ryrpacers.blogspot.com. Check it out. It's actually pretty cool. Well they were having a giveaway and Dan said we should enter because the prize was compression socks. I have been looking  into getting a pair of stockings for nursing because I can already feel my legs hurting halfway through the shift. I really really REALLY do not want varicose veins either. Hand over the granny stockings and keep my legs looking pretty! Anyway, so we entered the contest. Moved on with life, did homework, and went to bed. Oh and I took some mucinex...

I had lab this morning. Chest tubes and phlebotomy. Great fun actually, except we didn't know we were sticking each other. Luckily, it was successful on all fronts. I had a successful draw and Morgan had a successful draw on me! Susie (one of our instructors) had a vein finder/scanner type thing. I think we decided it reads the oxygenation off your skin with this red light...anyway, your veins are completely black under this light. It was LEGIT!! This is what it looked like under the light, except pretend the light was red instead of green. Same idea though. (picture pulled from the internet-I was too fascinated to take my own picture)

I have research right after, and I had 2 different texts from Dan saying Guess what?! Well, 2 hours later, I texted him back and then he said that I had won the compression socks!!! I totally didn't believe him, because I really never win anything. I checked on my phone though, and sure enough I had won! 

Crazy stuff huh?! Anyway, it just about made my entire day. That, and I didn't hyperventilate when Morgan was sticking me with the needle. I really am quite ridiculous and seriously traumatized. Oh well...it can only go up from here! So these are the kind of socks I'm getting! I picked black just so Dan and I can both wear them. I'm so so excited!!! (Photo from procompression.com).

Happy Thursday everyone!! Off to run errands and get crap done. 

ARIZONA BOUND NEXT WEEK!!!

The BIG 25 for the Mister

Let's just say that Dan's birthday started out less than ideally. We went up to my grandparents house on Sunday night for dinner and just to see them. It was great and really good to see them, but we both had quite a bit of homework that had to be turned in either Sunday night, or before class Monday morning. Thankfully, we both had brought our computers to work on homework in case we had some down time. There was definitely some inspiration on that decision. Anyway, we are getting ready to leave, and it's pretty cold outside at this point, and the car won't start. Little background: the connection to our battery has been loose for the last few weeks and periodically we have to go set a piece of wood on top of the positive connection to keep the connection to the battery to start the car. So, we didn't think too much of it. Tried to start the car...nothing. Not even a click. Long story short, Dan was outside for almost an hour and a half trying to figure out how to fix our car and nothing was working. We ended up staying at my grandparents house that night. 

We didn't sleep much. Something about the combination of stress and homework and not sleeping in your own bed will do that to you. Dan did not go to class on Monday, and neither did I. Unfortunately, Dan had an in class test that he obviously missed. After working on the car for seriously hours, and going to AutoZone at least once, he fixed it!! This little gem below fixed our car! And in the words of Dan: If we ever need to disconnect the battery it will have to be from the negative side because that's not coming off! He changed the terminal on the positive side of the battery, and after having the horn honk at him one too many times (I think the car thought we were stealing parts because it was the alarm horn going off), the car was fixed and we were able to get back home!

Before leaving, my Gramma took us to lunch at Cafe Rio for Dan's birthday. I'm a big lover of Mexican food, and it's quite the understatement to say I'm disappointed at the Mexican food selection in Utah. Something about being north of Arizona completely changes the taste of the food, and it's not the same. And everyone raves about Cafe Rio here and I honestly don't think it's that great...until yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised and actually really liked the food this time! Dan loves Cafe Rio too, so he was pretty happy!

Fast forward a few hours, and Dan is at work for the last few hours of the day, and since I was not able to make it to class, I hit up wally world for a few last minute birthday necessities. One of Dan's favorite things when it comes to cakes is yellow cake with chocolate frosting. If they're in a cupcake form, it's even better. Seriously, he loves them. It's cute.

I've been trying to figure out what to get for Dan's birthday that wasn't ridiculously expensive, especially with Valentine's day 3 days later. He had mentioned the other day that he really wants a REAL iron (as in regular size) and ironing board. So that's what I got him! I was a little worried that he really wouldn't like that, as much as he really wants a bigger iron. It would be easier to iron all his shirts, and much faster!

He loved it!! I love when I can get him stuff he actually likes. I always worry because shopping for men is so so hard (all the wives/girlfriends out there can appreciate that!) and seriously expensive when they have an expensive hobby (hunting). 

He liked it so much, he set it up right in the living room and ironed 3 or 4 of his shirts right then.

 This was at my Gramma's house earlier that day.

Happy Birthday to the best husband a girl could ever ask for and to this little guy. I can't believe he's already 6!! It breaks my heart we couldn't be together on their birthday, but that's what Skype is for right?! 

February 11th may just be one of my favorite days out of the year. Two of my most favorite people in the world get to share that day together and I can't think of a better way to share your birthday than with family (especially when they're as cute as Kason is!).

Happy Birthday Dan! And here's to many many more to come. This will be the best year yet :]

Cheers to the freaking weekend

Three day weekend was just what the doctor ordered!! Let's just go with a brief overview.

FRIDAY: Clinical, buddy day. Enough said. It was so freaking legit and made me so excited that I'm going to be a nurse soon!! However, not the point of the post. I suppose that will wait for another day. Friday night we FINALLY had our clinical group date that we'd been planning since last semester!! Robin was in town for a few days, and it's early enough in the semester that we all had a free evening. It also happened to be Clark's birthday! So we ordered pizza, made some cupcakes, sang happy birthday, and just hung out for the night. Cami and Matt, Robin, Jordan, Kaci, and Ashley and Clark were all over and we had a blast. It was a much needed comedic relief from the stress that we're all already feeling with this semester.

So each of the married couples told the story of how they met/proposal. It was pretty funny to say the least and all of us were practically rolling on the floor with laughter. The highlight for me of Cami and Matt's story was that in high school, Matt was a wrestler. And the way Cami puts it, he had black hair (dyed for wrestling) and was anorexic (to stay in his weight class). Haha. The highlight for me of Ashley and Clark's story was that Clark used SO MANY ONE LINERS on Ashley! Haha major cheese ball but hilarious at the same time! It was great and so nice to feel like we have friends that all of us actually get along with each other. After everyone had left, Cami and Matt were stayed for a bit talking to us, and between Cami and I we have quite a bit of "funds" starting. First we have the "pedicure fund" and then there's the "sushi fund" and I'm sure there are a few more we came up with!

Truth: making married friends is HARD!! Fact: all of us that night got along so well! All the girls of course, but the guys totally did too and that made me so happy! I love having couple friends!

SATURDAY: We had the Bunker's over! We were quite the party animals this last weekend. A rare occasion for us! We talked for quite a bit and played some Monopoly. I thought it would be pretty boring, but it actually ended up being super fun with only 4 people playing. Dan ended up completely bankrupt because he landed on Ed's "Boardwalk" property. $1400 in rent...can't really see why he went broke, haha. It was pretty funny, and the game ended after that. It was nice to have them over though because I feel like they were some of our first real friends that we made since being married. I love that we can go a few months without hanging out and things are still the same when we do get together again! Like I said, I love having couple friends! I just wish I had more time to hang out with them!

SUNDAY: Church. The sacrament. Spending the day with Dan. I just love Sundays. We made kalua and rice for dinner...I could go to heaven just thinking about it! Caitlin and Tyler came over for dinner too, and that was nice to see them again! I haven't seen Caitlin since she left for Christmas break. And she lives in the same state! It's just a testament to how busy I really am. Dan also made sweet bread after Caitlin and Tyler left. It's so so yummy! I didn't take any pictures of these loaves though...next time!! Next time!!

MONDAY: I decided it was time to lose my bread making virginity. I was so inspired by Dan's bread making skills the night before, and about a week ago, I came across my mom's bread recipe. So, I decided What the heck! I'll make bread today, and put this KitchenAid to good use! It was quite an experience to say the least! First of all, I really did not think all the required flour was going to fit into the mixing bowl. It barely did. Second, the dough was practically pouring over the sides by the time it was finished mixing. Third, it was so MESSY! Flour was in every which direction from the KitchenAid out and I had so much dough all over my fingers, I probably could have made another loaf. Okay, slight over exaggeration, but I really did have a ton of dough on my fingers.

Another reason it got so messy...well we're like kids some days, and we started putting flour all over each other. And since Dan has such a cute butt...I couldn't resist!

Then I let it rise for an hour, and it got HUGE!

I separated it into the bread pans, and after it baked, I had to have a slice, fresh and hot out of the oven. It did not disappoint. Our bread making ventures this weekend were quite the success. I, for one, was extremely proud of my bread!

Monday afternoon, Dan wanted to go fishing. I was pretty excited about it and excited to maybe get to use my fly fishing pole that Dan had bought me for Christmas. We went up Spanish Fork Canyon to Diamond Fork River. We drove into a campsite and found a spot pretty close to the river. We went to pull off the road a little ways (there were other track marks from multiple tires), and we had just barely pulled off when the front left tire sank straight down into the snow. Suck. It was pretty interesting, and we were seriously stuck, and stuck good. Like we rocked the car, shoved brush under the tires to get better traction, and the car would not move! The tires just kept spinning. Even more frustrating though, the tires would start to go forward, roll just enough, and then slip back into the hole. Luckily for us, there were other people stuck right around the corner. We walked over to ask for help, and helped them push their car out, and they came over to help us.

I was really afraid at this point that we would have to get pulled out. We didn't have a tow rope. Neither did they. Crap. I got back into the car, and we tried to push it out. It worked!!!! First time too. It was such a blessing! We made it out just fine, and even found Pitch Perfect at Redbox to watch!! The evening ended with eating chili with Caitlin and Tyler, and watching the movie.

It has been a great weekend. Now back to the grind. LOTS of homework to catch up on.

TWO ONE

Yesterday was birthday number TWENTY ONE.
Old much? Not really.
Recap:
Breakfast/brunch at the Original Pancake House.
Work.
That's about all I got in yesterday.

So I worked until about 9/930 when all the salesman were finished selling, and as each of them texted me their futures and that they were done, I got a "Happy Birthday" of some sorts with it. It definitely made me smile, and made working on my birthday that much better. And, since I turned 21 and can legally buy alcohol, there were a few of the salesman making comments about shots.
One said he owed me a shot of REAL Mexican tequila.
I politely rainchecked.
One said I had to do Jager bombs, or no dice.
To this I replied that between the bombs and tequila, it looked like I'd be pretty hammered in the morning.
One said he would even buy me my first round.

The best part was, all of these salesmen are LDS, so even though I knew the shots/bombs/tequila was all a joke, it was still quite funny.

Dan picked me up, and we went home and made dinner.
Well he made dinner. It was delicious.
Pork Chops. Yum!

But before dinner, when we walked into the apartment, he said he had a surprise for me. Well...it was these beauties...

Yepp, he knows me all too well. My heart just melts for sunflowers!
So back to dinner, he had pork chops and a salad for dinner. It was so exciting to have everything all done up and pretty for it.

And he had croissant rolls baking in the oven to go with it! Soooo yummy!!

And dinner was completed with my favorite...RED VELVET CAKE!
Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture with the baked/frosted cake. So the mixings will have to do.

To make things EVEN better, Jen and Braxton came by, and brought me the sweetest treat ever! Seriously, these were the best cupcakes I've EVER had. EVER. They were chocolate (already a winner) with chocolate frosting and strawberry slices (double winner) with cheesecake in the middle. SCORE!!!

It was the best birthday yet...and I told Dan that this was quite the accomplishment because my mom through me a surprise party for my 16th, and I was totally shocked. So major accomplishment/props to him.

Birthday picture. Love him.

And just because I love his face SOOOO much...I want to remember this face forever.

Thank you for making my birthday so special. I love you!!

Food. YUMM!!

I've been dying to post about this delicious recipe I tried last week. Dan and I both LOVED it!!!
I got this awesome cookbook from my mother in law and I've just been giddy about it all! There's so many tasty recipes inside. If you're curious, it's called Taste of Home: Simple and Delicious.

This is the page in the book. Seriously, easiest recipe to make. It's so easy to as far as serving sizes too because you figure one roll per person. Anyway, it was super simple and easy and they were amazing!! It was actually kind of fun to make: to roll up the lasagna noodles then just bake them.

The ingredients: ricotta cheese, basil, parsley, pepperoni slices, and spaghetti sauce.
You bake the lasagna noodles per the package instructions. Mix up the cheese, basil and parsley flakes. I think it was a quarter of a cup of the cheese mix and spread it out on the noodle (but leave some space at the end so you can roll the noodle). Then you put the pepperoni slices on over the cheese, and then ROLL the noodle. (My favorite part!).

All rolled up!

After you have them rolled up and in the greased baking dish, you pour the spaghetti sauce on top.

 Then bake!!

Because of this amazing book...I am definitely looking forward to the rest of my week of delicious and amazing dinners!!

Christmas Eve

It's been quite the eventful evening. Not really, but we've done a few things around the Haban home today. First of all, Dan was supposed to get off of work at 12 today, but due to some lovely shop lifters at Kmart, he actually didn't make it home till 2. That was a little bit of a bummer, but it was totally fine because he's usually not home till 5 or 6, especially this week. So I got to spend the entire afternoon with him!

I was reading this blog today, and I kind of love it...like a lot. I can't find the link to it right now (dang it!) but it was just talking about curvy, plus size women and that we should embrace it and pretty much tell Hollywood to shove it. It's always nice to hear someone batting for those of us that are so blessed in this world with curves.

Oh and because of said blog, I watched the first couple episodes of a new TV show called Huge. I'm still not sure how I feel about, but it is pretty funny.

So back to Christmas Eve, I've been absolutely pining to open just one present! I think it would kill the anticipation a little bit. I think this is the first year in quite awhile that I haven't the slightest idea what any of my presents are. Especially for the last couple of years, I was the one that was helping my mom wrap presents all night, and that went shopping with her for the presents, so I usually knew what at least one of my presents were, which definitely bides away that anticipation so I slept just fine Christmas Eve. This year, I'm not quite sure I'll be able to sleep! Seriously, I might just wait till midnight, and open them all at 12:01 am...then sleep.

Dan doesn't agree with my idea. He says we have to wait for Santa to come...dang it.

Google Earth says Santa is in Kalamazoo Michigan right now. I think I want to live there just for the name! How legit would that be the write on return addresses.

Anyway, back the festivities.

We, and when I say we I mean Dan, made cinnamon rolls tonight! He's just a champ cook. We'll get fat because of his cooking. It's delicious!

They look so yummy! And I have to wait till the morning for those too!! Ugh this is the pits! However, we do have lots of yummy treats that are sitting around our cute little home. Most especially, cake balls! Red Velvet cake balls!!

I made them on Friday right before the family party we went to. Needless to say, they're delicious. And I keep eating them. They should really say that it's around Christmas you'll gain weight, not Thanksgiving.

So I was too cheap to buy wrapping paper...mostly because there's so many other things I'd rather get than wrapping paper. Dan and I thought it would be pretty funny to just wrap our gifts in ads. We have gotten tons of them lately, so that's what I did.

See! But Dan came home today with a roll of wrapping paper that they gave him at work. So since we have the wrapping paper, I decided it would be pretty lame that they're not in pretty wrapping paper like the ones we've gotten from our parents. I don't want them to feel like the black sheep in the family. So I just wrapped them in wrapping paper....over the ads. Haha.

And here's our  tree! We like to hang our stockings on the tree...no big deal.

I love it. And I'm insanely excited for tomorrow.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Sugar Cookies

....will be the death of me.

Seriously, I've had like 5 already.

Totally defeats the purpose of kicking my own butt when I went to the gym this morning.

But if you're feeling all "baking/homemaker" mood, you should try them.

They're practically sinful.

So if you're interested, follow this recipe.

I cooked them for 10 minutes and they were perfect!

Let's all get fat on sugar cookies and be happy!