Updates

This photo is up because today during my lunch hour I noticed that the aspen trees are starting to change color. They are a beautiful mix of greens, oranges, and yellows; soon they will turn solid yellow and fall. It feels like it happened overnight because I do not remember noticing this change until today. It has been so unseasonably warm here that my mind is a little confused about what to expect. Although I welcome the warmth for as long as possible, I do love watching the Aspens change in Flagstaff throughout the Fall. We truly do live in a beautiful town. I will make a conscious effort to remind myself of this every time I feel so far away from civilization in our snowy mountain town!

Anyway, back to my updates. We started Early Enrollment Advising for Spring 2011 this week so I've been pretty beat at the end of each day (hence my neglected blog posts)! It takes a few weeks to get my "advising stamina" back up.

Two weekends ago Jason came down with a little something so I went without him to a "sushi party" our friends Ryan and Katie Wessel threw. It was my first time making sushi; it was surprisingly easy! I put shrimp, cream cheese, cucumber and avocado in my roll. Here is our finished product:


Last week Jason was in New Hampshire from Wednesday - Friday. He spent the weekend with his parents, brother Erik, sister-in-law Cindy, and our two nieces Emelie and Juliette. Here is a great picture of Uncle Jason with his newest niece:


Pushing Emelie on the swing...


Apparently they also played a lot of tee-ball, football and hide-and-go-seek. I think Emelie is quite the athlete!

I worked Saturday at Discover NAU, a program for prospective students and their parents, and Sunday night I went to see Tosh.0 on NAU's campus. His set and two opening acts did not disappoint. A great way to end the weekend, doubled over with laughter.



I am still on campus Monday evening as I write. Jason is landing in Flagstaff soon and I'm giving a resume workshop tonight to a student organization. Looking forward to seeing my hubbie!

Car Show, Football, and a Little More...

It was a beautiful fall weekend in Flagstaff! We met some friends downtown on Saturday afternoon to watch football and take a walk around the vintage car show. As we speak we are watching the Patriots destroy the Bengals -- Cincinnati has plenty of reality t.v. stars but no one to make a play!

Not much activity to catch you up on so I thought I'd talk about some things Jason and I like right now. Do you ever find that you go through phases with certain music, food or interests? I know we do. Here is some stuff we're loving right now...

1. This song. Scala choir covers Radiohead's "Creep". Scala is an all girls choir from Belgium -- they are pretty amazing.

2. Cherub Tomatoes. Always delicious, good for snacks and salads.


3. Scarfs -- my favorite fall accessory...not so much Jason's;) I found World Market, H&M, and Marshall's never disappoint.

4. Jogging. That sounds simple, but for anyone who has ever heard my rant on running you know I am not a fan, nor is Jason. We did decide to give it a real try and are training for a 5K in Phoenix in December. Our training starts small...very small...Week 1 we went out 3 times and ran for 60 seconds, walked for 90 seconds, ran for 60 seconds, walked for 90 seconds... It was enough to start to find our stride, but short enough that I still feel confident going into next week. I think I had a bit of an epiphany that I used to run everyday before I went to college; I was on our soccer team, track team, and even ran cross country (believe it or not!). I think I need to prove to myself that I can still do it, and thankfully Jason is willing to come along for the ride.

5. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. Enough Said.

From Fall 2010 2

Here's the recipe:
* 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
* 1 tsp. baking soda
* 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. cloves, 1/4 tsp. salt
* 1 cup granulated sugar (I use Splenda)
* 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/4 cup No Sugar Added Apple Sauce, or Canola Oil
* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup chocolate chip (I use Ghiradhelli 60% cocoa chips)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk flour with baking soda, spices & salt. In another bowl whisk together sugar, pumpkin, milk, apple sauce and egg.
Stir in dry ingredients to wet ingredients until completely incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into 12 lined muffin cups and bake 20 to 25 minutes.
Enjoy!

6. Kindle 3, Jason's 30th birthday present and newest toy.


7. I am still kickin' it old school with paper books. Currently reading (and highly recommend)...


8. T.V. When do we not love this? Our favorites right now?


I hate to admit this one, but we are addicted to the train wreck that is...


Speaking of T.V... I'm off to get something done so we can watch True Blood season finale tonight. Have a great week! XOXO

The Big 3-0.

As a new month began so did a new decade for Jason; September 1st was his 30th Birthday. On his actual Birthday Jason was at a conference in Sedona. I drove down after work to take him out to dinner at Fork in the Road. It was yummy! Unfortunately I forgot my phone in the hotel room so I don't have a picture. Friday night the celebration continued; I cooked Jason a steak dinner and he enjoyed a birthday brownie (see picture above).

On Saturday, after watching Clemson beat N. Texas, we went to a wedding ceremony for my friend and co-worker, Melanie. She and her (now) husband had a beautiful ceremony in Hart's Prairie, a gorgeous field with views of the San Francisco Peaks. This was the best picture I could get, but the light wasn't working with me...


We got a little family photo -- I love this picture! I think it's one of the best we've taken in awhile...and it feels very "Flagstaff" to me...haha...my Flagstaff readers will know what I mean.


The celebration continued at their ceremony at Zane Grey's, a bar in the historic Weatherford Hotel downtown. Me and the beautiful bride:


We are enjoying our Labor Day off of work. After 12 days of straight work I was certainly ready for this long weekend and some serious relaxation. Happy Labor Day!