Some Random Things for Saturday Morning

Scott and I are trying to create some good habits that will hopefully improve quality of life (or just make us crazy instead). We have been getting up every morning (for the past two weeks) at 5:20. Saturdays are a little bit more laxed and we get up at 6:00AM instead (me 6:45 today). Now, many of you who know me are probably thinking, "Lindsay, give poor Scott a break! Let the poor man sleep." Well, to all of those that had those thoughts...it was SCOTT'S idea, I am just the enforcer (most of the time). What I mean about enforcer is as soon as the alarm goes off, I turn on the lamp so we don't fall back asleep. There have been a couple of times where I hesitated cause I REALLY wanted to hit snooze, but Scott would say, "Turn the light on!" So, overall it has been good. We hit the gym, then I get ready for work, and Scott has been getting ready to start school. So, with that intro, it is not quite 8:00 this morning, Scott is at orientation (originally it was supposed to be on Tuesday and Thursday, but that dang Hurricane Fay ruined everything. They had to change his orientation to Thursday and Saturday!), I am waiting for the rain to subside so I can go for my morning run. I just might have to go to our tiny little gym in the complex. Funny thing about the gym...
We are usually the only one's there at 5:30AM, but lately, there have been two hispanic guys that have been coming too. We usually are watching the Olympics and have both TV's on (they are little, give me a break). So, we felt bad that we had English blasting on both TV's so we gave them a remote so they could watch the Spanish Chanel. Well, now it almost feels like a competition who gets there first. The next morning, we get there, the lights are on and it is our Hispanic friends watching the Spanish Chanel on both TV's. Sheesh. So, we just laugh internally and go on with our work out. Halfway through, one of the guys hand us the remote so we could watch some Enlglish chanels. Have any of you ever seen, "The Cutting Edge?" For those of you who have and remember it, you will remember that there was this competition going on to see who could get up earliest to work out. That is how I have felt with our new friends.
Well, just a couple more thoughts and I am done. First: Have any of you watched table tennis during the olympics? Amazing! I have only seen the girls, but they know how to handle that ball! You think they are gonna slam it (like in tennis) and they pull back the last minute. So cool!
Second thought: Why, oh Why is there speedwalking as an olympic event??? Why? We turned the tv on during our morning routine and I thought it was the marathon event and the guy was just really tired. No, he was speedwalking! I thought that speedwalking is something that only older women do as a group and chat about anything and everything while doing so. It was a funny site. Well, for any of you who made it to the end of this post (I know that many of you probably scrolled down to find the pictures, but sorry, there are none today! Wahahahah) I am going to leave you with the homemmade granola recipe. There have been a few requests.

Granola:
Combine in Large Bowl
1 C Wheat Germ
1 C Oat Bran
8 C Rolled Oats
1 C Chopped nuts (optional)
1 C Sunflower seeds (optional)
(I used soy nuts last time cause the ants got into my leftover trail mix that I was gonna use!)

Meanwhile in a suacepan, combine 1C Brown Sugar, 1 C Vegie Oil, and 1 C Honey. Cook over medium heat until brown sugar dissolved. Add 1 Teasp. vanilla. Pour over grains and stir until well coated. Divide mixture between two large cooking sheets. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes. When done, remove from oven, and scrape granola from pan and back into bowl (it will stick if you cool on pan). Let it cool in large bowl stirring ocassionally.

I usually half the recipe cause it still makes a ton. It usually lasts us for a few weeks. Let me know if any of you try it!

Just Call me Betty. Betty Crocker that is

SO I enjoy baking....who doesn't? I made homemade 100% whole wheat bread and I must say that it was pretty tasty. We froze one loaf and put the other in the fridge. Ok, so maybe it was a tiny bit dense, but was still so divine! I had to monitor how much I ate because I probably would have downed the whole loaf in one sitting...especially covered in my non-melting, prejudiced non-butter spread and jam!

The finished product. I was so proud. We have to put our food away super fast or the dang sugar ants will get it!

"What is this?" That's right, homemade granola. A previous co-worker of mine is married to super-mom/wife and she gave me this awesome recipe. I didn't really have nuts that I wanted to put in it cause the ants got to them, so I added soy nuts instead. Pretty good!! I would give it a thumbs up! OK...I am done being a dork now!

Favorite Things...So Far!

Before I get too far into this post I must apologize for the VERY offensive picture on the previous post. Due to my poor attention to detail, I posted a picture of an Aryan Nation advertisement rather than my so I thought, "I can't believe it's not butter," advertisement. YIKES. Anyway, Scott and I were on a run one night and found this awesome dock. We have since come to it many times. We will read, or just talk while we watch the sunset (Well, I guess when we are reading, we really are not watching the sunset). Anyway, we have seen dolphins, all sorts of bird species, and even (we think) an alligator. The sunsets are amazing. We love it. So tonight for FHE, we went with the intent to read, but took pictures instead.

There are usually people fishing or watching the sunset right along with us. We have had a couple pretty interesting conversations with others. Maybe we can share the gospel with other on our beautiful dock.

St Petersburg Pier. We decided to go see some of our new home and went to the Pier in St Petersburg. It was awesome. There were dolphins swimming around and the most beautiful sunset. We were imaging how fun it would be to have visitors and how we could take them to this awesome spot.

Scott hates it when I ask random people to take our picture. Sometimes I just laugh!!

I can't Believe It's Not Butter...and it REALLY isnt.

Since Scott and I LOVE a good amount of butter on our food, I decided that I would try something a little bit healthier...I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. But is it REALLY better for you? Sure, it doesn't have all the wonderful calories that butter and even margarine have but I noticed something about this spread...it doesn't melt. Even on the hottest foods. That CAN'T be good for you. We had baked potatoes tonight with the fat free spread, added some lite sour cream, cheese and...Pork and Beans (I know...sick, huh? We meant to have chili, but we didn't have any. So we improvised). When I added the non-butter, it just sat there. You know how when you add a big glob of butter to a baked potato, hot pancakes, or toast, it practically melts off the food onto your plate? Well, not the spread. It just sat there. After that, I thought to myself (also saying it out loud) "that can't be good" Scott agreed. So, even though this so called wonderful item is low-cal, fat free...maybe it isn't so good for us? I don't think we will buy it again (besides, let's be honest...it isn't NEARLY as good as the real stuff)

Tampa Bay Busch Gardens

Scott and I decided to splurge just a little bit and head over to Tampa Bay Busch Gardens. It is a huge amusement park with tons of different rides (although we only hit three of them, explain later) and awesome animals. We got there around 11:00AM and left at 8:00PM.We both crashed when we got home, Scott on the couch while watching TV and me in our bed while reading. 3:30AM came around and the light was on in our room and TV on in the other. We had so much fun...even with the smoldering heat. I don't think I have ever seen Scott sweat that bad, even during a basketball game. It was interesting to see how little clothing people wore. I think the most disturbing image was the 50+year old lady prancing around in a hot pink bikini. YIKES.

The first of two roller coasters that we went on. This is Gwazi. I had to convince Scott that riding in the front is the only way to go and I forgot something. Wooden rollercoasters are not too forgiving on the brain. I swear I could feel my brain bouncing around in my head during the crazy and jagged turns. Needless to say, that ride was a one timer for me. No need for repeats on that one (Oh, and these are all google images. My camera battery was dead...).

The funnest of them all...Sheikra. Sheikra is the fastest ride in the park (70 MPH) and it drops you around 120 feet at a 90 degree angle. The most nerve wrecking, exciting part is right before the drop. You get to the very top of the ride and right before the drop, you are facing straight down, and there is a pause! You are suspended there for added affect! Once again, I convinced Scott that the only way to ride is in the front row! This time though, you were not able to choose which line to go to, they had a worker there telling you where to go. So, without Scotts knowledge, I asked the worker if we could sit in the front. It worked! He sent us to the front row and Scott could not figure out how that happened. I told him that I asked and he didnt believe me. There was a family sitting in our row and as we were loading, these little girls darted for the second row, causing a litte chaos. Their dad was trying to convince them to stay with him. I tapped one of them (who was totally panicked) on the arm and said that it was really fun, that she would love it! I had to continue prepping her on the way up. Then, as we were hanging, I started screaming, probably ruining all of the progress I had made with the little hispanic girl. Whoops!

Intense isn't it?
We waited in line for two water rides. They had to stop running the first one because the weather was bad (If there is lighting within 5 miles of the park, they will shut everything down until it is gone). The other ride we waited in line for over an hour (The Congo River...remember that family??? You get totally soaked). We were even IN the boat. It was taking a long time to get going then I noticed the water was draining. Hmmm...that couldn't be good. Everything stopped and people were stuck in the water in their boats. We sat there for a couple of minutes until the worker had to get us out. There was a power outage. So, we waited another 45 minutes or so (we were determined to go on this ride) and finally made it on to a 4 minute not-so-much thrill ride. Oh well, we bonded with the group on our boat, so it was still fun! Instead of hitting more rides, we went around and looked at all of the animals. They were pretty amazing!

The cool thing about this park is now that we have bought tickets, we can go as much as we want until December 31st. I might have to go by myself once school starts for Scott!

A Little More About Florida...

Some exciting news for the day. We have been praying really hard that I will be able to find a job. I have submitted my resume everywhere and I have had no email responses, call backs, nothing (now, I know that it takes time to find a good job, but, we just do not have a ton of money to be waiting for too long). I was at Office Team the other day, a Placement Company, and I got a phone call from a guy from a company called Thinking Systems. I assumed it was another Staffing Company that some how got a hold of my resume so I was not in a hurry to call back. I was wrong though and realized that I had applied for a job with his company as an Office Manager (It is easy to lose track when you apply for many jobs). Anyway, I went in for an interview on Wednesday. It was going really well until he told me that he already made an offer to someone else, but he would rather give it to me (she had not given him an answer yet, and kept pushing back the date to tell him). I did not mention that he happened to be a member of the church (he started talking to me about it during the interview and said that he would rather work with a member than a complete stranger!!). I felt good about the company and interview and decided to take the job if the other girl declined the offer. He called me today and said that he wanted to make the offer to me. I had to go in for one more interview (with his partner of the company) and his partner did not seem as excited about me because I did not have the office experience that he wanted. But, I got him to like me and they offered me the job (they lowered what they originally offered, not by much, because the partner thought I was offered too much. Oh well...). So, I start work on Monday and really excited. Scott is going to bored stiff without his one and only!! I really feel blessed to be out here, that we made the right decision (hopefully that feeling stays!).
I can handle the humidity, the heat and random rainstorms, even the blasted lizards and gigantic grasshoppers...BUT, they pest control people NEED to do something about the blasted sugar aunts that we get in our kitchen. They are these micro size aunts that scurry around the counters. They drive me insane. I don't even want to cook for fear of them sneaking into our food!! Other than that...things are good. They really are falling into place for us. I am, however, ready to start working again. After three weeks of being unemployed...Im ready to go so, BRING IT!

The Grand Trek Across Country

Well, we had our last family get-together (once again and Steve and Lisa's) and Scott's brother Dave and his family came to the house to say a little farewell!! We were so glad that we got to see them. Dave and Emily were the first of the family I got to meet (while Scott and I were dating) and they always made me feel so welcomed! We will miss them.

Scott did a great job driving this monster cross country. He enjoyed it. I on the other hand was only ever a passenger there was no way I was gonna drive that beast with the other huge semi's on the road, strong wind gusts and road construction. Good job Scott!!

Wyoming...the first of the states that we drove through (besides Utah). We were both expecting a lot more green, but it was mostly desert.

This is me (of course) making a "I can't believe we are really doing this," face.

Scott, being his calm and collected self as usual.

Have any of you ever seen Neverending Story? Does this could bring back any memories at all? It was a HUGE momma storm that we had to drive right into! It was a little scary, especially for my parents. They were driving Scott's car and whoops, we forgot to get the windshield wiper fixed (on the drivers side) so my poor dad had to lean way over to be able to see. I was saying a quiet prayer for them during that chaos! Oh, I think that this was in Nebraska

Is there any need for a giant nutcracker at a gas station??? I didn' think so.

We decided to take a little detour while we were in Misouri and go to Liberty Jail. What Scott and I didn't know is that it was about an hour long tour ( we wanted to get back on the road ASAP-dont ask me why). The problem with the tour was all of us were exhausted. So, as soon as the lights went out, I felt myself slipping into a deep slumber. I looked over at Scott, my dad and mom and all had their heads down. I felt bad for the guide, so I did my best. It was still a really neat experience.

It is funny...in Utah, there are LDS churches EVERYWHERE. Totally different story in the southern states. I believe this was...Illinois. I thought is was an LDS church at first.

Kentucky? It all started looking the same. Beautiful country though

I think I skipped pictures of Tennesee and Georgia. As soon as we crossed into Florida, there was a huge rainstorm, and there has been one at least once everyday since we have been here. I love the rain and thunder. This is in Tampa. There are some pretty sweet bridges to cross. They are pretty much right on the water. And NO, we haven't seen any alligators yet. Every freshwater pond we drive past, I try and see some.

Stetson University College of Law! The campus is awesome.

The very excited new student. Scott is ready for school to start.

Our little lizard friend that Scott found in our house on our broom. No, we didn't kill it. We captured it then released it to its natural home.

Treasure Island Beach (I think). There are so many out here, but we decided to go and relax for a couple of hours. It didn't rain on us, but it was overcast. Probably a good thing cause we got a little sun with the clouds.

Our go-to-meal when we don't have any food in the house. Waffles and yogurt. I love it! Scott likes them best with syrup. This was our Sunday meal today. Mmmm...

Good Bye to the Scott Foley Fam (almost)

I am struggling getting these blasted pictures to do what I want. Anyway, these pictures are from Steve and Lisa's house. We had one last FHE before we left for our big trek across country. Steve and Lisa were always so good to let us hang out for hours!!

I swear, Scott was hiding from the camera this night. We only got two pictures of him.

Zack and Uncle John. I think that Zack was a little scared, hence the look on his face...

Don't mind mine and Scott's not so dressy attire...we had been packing and cleaning all day...we were tired little lambs (and a little scruffy!)

I miss this little guy!

Cameron...what good times we had as roommies...this girl can dance like no other! And...ignore the make-up-less face. Hey, at least I got a shower in. Julie and Cam look gorgeous...like usual

Turning into a tree hugger at an early age.

Lisa was so kind to share the last of her cream sickles...made quite the mess on the little ones

John and Easton...sharing some deep thought.

This bug was HUGE! It saw the light at the glass door and started slamming into it. The poor bug died a slow, painful death. We were all too scared to get too close (Chad took this picture)

I miss my family but am excited to be in Florida. We have quite the adventures approaching!

A whole lot of Updates

I would like to have the text start above the first picture, but, I guess this blog will not cooperate with me tonight. Anyway, we had the awesome experience to spend yet another weekend up in Idaho, but this time for the Lovell reunion. My Grandpa's brothers own a ton of land up in Ririe and they have a ranch house with many fun things to do...

I think that this trampoline has been here since I was a little girl. That thing has some bounce to it.

I have no idea how high this slide actually is, but I truly had to psyche myself up to go down it. My cousin suggested me sliding down on a towel so I wouldn't burn my bum, but I decided against it when the kid before me slid down on one and face planted it at the bottom. The sound of skin scraping on a hot metal slide is not very pleasant. So, after a few minutes of self talk and encouragement from the bystanders, I took the plunge and headed down the long, fast and very hot slide...

I would say a ten for the landing. The second time I went my momentum kept me running pretty fast and almost tripped on my mom.

Cute little Anna. I just love this girl.

I remember this water slide being so much bigger as a kid. Anna and Zack wanted to go down so I volunteered to take them (I am such a nice aunt). Zack, who usually is fearless started screaming halfway down (this slide picked up some pretty good speed). Anna was fine until we hit the water. So, here I have Zack and Anna, one in each arm, screaming. I was laughing so hard I couldnt stand up. When I finally did ( I had one kid in each arm) I realized my swim skirt was above the rear and asked a random cousin (dont know her name) if she would pull my skirt back down (the water slide caused a slight wedgie).

Mom, Dad and Zack attack

I have learned the Scott is WAY more ticklish than I am.

The Lovell girls...

I think in this picture, Anna was saying,"No, I want to hold mommy!" That is what she says when she wants Mommy to hold her.

Cute Uncle Chad with Zack

I really dont know what I was doing in this picture...probably trying to take a bite of Scott's food. I always do that and it drives him nuts!! :)

We stayed with Grandma Benson for two weekends in a row. We love visiting her. She also makes some of the best food ever. She always goes big in her cooking...yumm