I'm tagged

1. 4 jobs I've had
Transition program coordinator for Provo school district (special ed)
Childcare at THPRD
cook for 4 ladies with schizophrenia
Camp Easter Seal "Nature Mama"

2. 4 movies I can watch any time
Pride & Prejudice(6 hour)-ditto Merilee & Monique (i'm seeing a pattern here)
Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory- ditto Monique
Legally Blonde
Sense & Senseability


3. 4 places I have lived
Coos Bay Oregon
Beaverton Oregon
Goiania Brazil
Fort Dix New jersey


4. 4 TV shows I love
Greys Anatomy
Brothers and Sisters
No Reservations (food network)
Globe trekkers


5. 4 foods I love
cucumbers from the garden with a light sprinkle of salt
Barbecue ribs
cantaloupe
puffy cheetos


6. 4 websites I visit daily
my blog and others
myyahoo
rei.com
my bank account although not every day

.7. 4 places I'd rather be visiting
My sister in Maryland
Brazil
Thailand
Chelly in Vermont

8. 4 people to tag
Mahina
Krista
Mandy
Bridget

In my lovely garden

This year my garden has been incredible. So far the best one I've ever had. My plants are HUGE! I did a bunch of composting over the winter and I don't know if that is why or what but I LOVE IT! I took Sam out (my quaker parrot) to visit the garden and started taking pictures of him in the garden and ended up with a bunch of pictures so I thought I'd share.

Sam with the tomatoes

These are my tomato plants. As you can see they are gigantic. I have 2 cherry, 1 grape, 1 beefsteak, 2 heirloom and 1 persimmon. I also have two volunteer tomato plants that popped up from last year. They are smaller but I think I'm going to get some tomatoes off them as well. I planted the yummiest baby carrots too. Oh yeah there is one volunteer lemon cucumber in this bed as well.

This is my corn. I have planted corn in the past and it didn't do very well. I did some research and found out that I needed at least 4 rows of corn for pollination. So I did one whole bed of corn this year and it's doing great so far.

Here we have broccoli and green beans. The broccoli was a new adventure this year and had been fun to grow. It just keeps growing and growing. We've been eating a lot of broccoli this summer. Sam doesn't complain though because it's his favorite!

MMMM Tomatoes! I can hardly wait until they are ripe. It won't be long.

I finished!!!!!

I've finally finished Harry Potter. I have no idea how my sister read it so quickly. It took me several days. I started this past Saturday and I feel like I've been reading ever since. Although I do know that my days have been filled with doing things for my children. I don't think i've done barely any house cleaning since I started reading. I LOVED the book. It's definitely the best one in the series. Finally everything comes together and you understand so much more. I have some big questions though that my imperfect brain can't grasp. I won't ask them here since I don't want to spoil the book for anyone but if you have finished the book then email me or call me. I especially loved the last sentence in the book. "All is well" AAAAAHHHHHH....... such a great way to end an important chapter in all of our lives. That of Harry Potter!

Low fat Shrimp Linguini

I created this alfredo sauce a long time ago when I wanted to create a healthier alfredo sauce that I didn't feel so bad eating. Tonight I had some shrimp I needed to use so I used this sauce recipe and made up the shrimp part with what I had. It turned out so yummy I had to share.

1 lb. cooked pasta
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup skim milk
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 lb. raw shrimp, peeled
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tsp. pampered chef Jamaican seasoning
1 garlic clove
dash salt

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and stir until becomes thick paste. Do not brown. Add chicken stock, milk and garlic. Using a wire whisk stir mixture until it comes to a full boil. Add salt and pepper. and continue to cook for 1 min. Slowly add cheese, stirring until sauce has consistency of thick malt.

Put shrimp in a small bowl and add 1/2 cup orange juice, jamaican seasoning, crushed garlic and salt. Heat a dash of olive oil in a saute pan. Add entire shrimp mixture, juice and all, into hot saute pan. cook until shrimp turns pink and juice is reduced ( about 3 minutes ).

Combine your cooked pasta with your sauce. Dish up and put shrimp on top.

I normally would use cooked chicken in this recipe. Just substitute whatever you want.

SWEET ANNIVERSARY

It's been quite the ride; being married for 14 years. I am so glad I chose Chris. He is the perfect complement to my sometimes high strung temperament. He calms me when i get stressed out. He helps me see that i need to laugh. We are one of those couples who has to work to find things we are equally interested in. But we have figured out a few over the past fourteen years and we have so much fun doing them together. Rafting, camping, and going to renaissance fairs to name a few. My friend Bridget made a list of things for each of the years she had been married. It inspired me to do my own. Here is to 14 years. I love you Chris.

14 late night runs to taco bell. Who are we kidding? It’s more than that!

13 years of learning how to be parents.

12 times watching “Hocus Pocus” on Halloween.

11 rafting trips together on the McKenzie, Umpqua and Rogue rivers.

10 years of Chris going to school. 5 years at BYU 3 classes away from finishing a degree in Latin American Studies. 5 years at Portland State studying computer science.

9 different homes with 9 different moves. Starting in Utah and ending back home in Oregon.

8 trips to the emergency room. 1 for Chris, 7 for Darilyn

7 wards we’ve been members of – Springville, BYU, Orem, Eugene, Albany, Aloha 2^nd, Hazeldale

6 Harry Potter books that we have shared. (about to be 7)

5 funerals. 3 for my grandparents, 1 for our niece, 1 for a dear friend.

4 trips to Disneyland, 4 Shakespeare plays, 4 visits to Gold and Silver Falls.

3 beautiful blonde girls, 3 adorable nephews

2 Kung fu tournaments that Chris’ won medals at, 2 car accidents

1 trip to Tijuana, 1 trip to Washington D.C., 1 trip to NYC, 1 MONTH TIL’ CHRIS’ GRADUATION!!!!

the glory of glasses

Yesterday morning as I was about to put my contacts in I felt something strange on one of them. A closer look revealed that 1/2 of it was gone! I made it in to see Dr. Linda and get new contacts ordered but I have to wear my glasses for a week. This is turning out to be quite a challenge. I've never worn glasses more than a couple of hours since the 3rd grade! It feels wierd! Yesterday a friend told me to just wear extra eye makeup. So this morning I grabbed that mascara and took off my glasses and realized, "dang, I can't see to do it" so there I was an inch from the mirror trying to put mascara on. Crazy. I guess I should be grateful I even have a pair of glasses. It would have been really bad If I had nothing!

Coos Bay

I've been asked several times since I got home from Coos Bay if I had a good time. I always hesitate with my answer which I know gives the message that it wasn't so great. I did however have a fabulous time. The hesitation comes from the complication of family life. (see blog below). I ended up having an amazing time so I will stop hesitating when asked about my trip.

I loved our trip to the beach - such a beautiful day.

I loved Emma's blanket - see picture above.

I loved canning tuna.

I loved driving down the southern Oregon coast.
This was another beautiful day with blue skies and gentle breezes. You just don't get this on the southern oregon coast. We stopped in Bandon and I couldn't believe how adorable it was. It has changed a lot since I was last there. Very cute shops. I bought an agate windchime for my back patio. Love it.

I loved seeing Makenzie cry - after the testimony meeting she came and found me and hugged me and said she wanted to go home. I don't think she really did. I think she just didn't know what to do with the spirit she was feeling. It's a new thing for her. She doesn't cry alot and I'm pretty sure it just feels uncomfortable to her.

I love the power of prayer. - Makenzie had lost her glasses sometime during the all day hike. Her entire unit had searched for them and an announcement had been made to help find them. No luck. While everyone was in at the fireside I went to Makenzie's Addie (like a cabin) and prayed. I then started looking. I went through everything again in hopes that her friends had missed something. No luck. I said another prayer. I then went down to the river where they had zip lined across at the end of the hike. No luck. I then saw a lone picnic table behind the lodge with a few misc. items on it. I walked over and there all by themselves on the corner of the table were her glasses.

I love the smell of the woods. - The Myrtlewood trees that grown in that region produce this amazing smell. That combined with the dirt creates this rich smell that I miss so much.

I loved getting home and having a clean house and dinner ready - after driving for 7 hours straight to get home I was so grateful that Chris had vacuumed and cleaned the kitchen. Not to mention feeding us! He is the best. I'm so lucky to have him.

I had a great time.