Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Good Things Will Come


This post is a shout out to my mother.
                                                         You were right.
Things haven't been going my way lately.
                                        "Just hang in there" says Momma.
After weeks of waiting...
                                                            I got it :) 

Hold on – this is a crazy story: 

So, back in early May I interviewed with a Graphic Design company.  I wanted to learn more about that aspect of marketing and knew this company would be so fun to work for, and that it would be an incredible learning experience.  Sadly…they didn’t hire me.  They said they hired someone with a little more experience, and wished me luck with my future. 

I was pretty sad.

But, at the same time I started working for BYU Sports Marketing as an intern and have been having an incredible time.  For one of the events they put on each year, a sponsorship dinner, I ran into a few people from the Graphic Design company. Random right? 

After the program had begun and all sponsors were seated, I got up to fill my plate full of the yummy catered goodies. 

“Hey, didn’t we interview you?”

I looked up. It was one of the guys (getting more delicious food).  He recognized me! 

“Yes, I did! A while ago now.”

“Well, we really liked you and wanted to hire you, but the person we hired had a few more years of experience under her belt.  She moved.  Are you still interested?”

Whaaaaaaaaaaat?? OF COURSE!

“Oh most definitely, thank you for thinking of me!”

“Great! We’ll be in touch.”

After a painful few weeks, I got it.  The glorious email giving me my start date: July 9th.  It is for real! 

So mom, this is for all those times I have called and complained.  When nothing seems to be going right.  When things aren’t working out my way.  Just like you always say, “Just hang in there, good things will come.”

They sure did.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Summer Saturdays

We woke up to a hot Saturday morning, and quickly dressed in our "golf gear" (aka the only nice shorts we own) and made our way down to the driving range.  Awkwardly swinging drivers and sending balls a whopping 10 meters away isn't necessarily my idea of a good time, but Ryan made it fun because he was more excited than I have seen him in weeks!  He's a pretty good coach too, so I got the "swing" of things towards the end ;)


We met up with the Yecks and Kate (yes, she is back safe & sound!!) and meandered around Provo's farmer's market on center street.  I was so happy.  Local honey, handmade button earrings, glorious homemade breads, and all sorts of goodies that were fun to taste test and examine.  We walked away with a baby basil plant and some honey, and are eager to return in the weeks to come.


Next on the agenda?  Swimming!!!  It has been over 90 degrees here for a few weeks now, so after baking in the sun at the driving range/farmer's market, we all decided it was time to cool off.  And by cooling off we mean this:

Lauren
Ryan
Kate

We ended the evening with grande salads galore (every topping/dressing/veggie we could find) and ate some homemade popcorn with the Yecks, the master popcorn chefs.


When we returned home at last, Ryan and I looked at each other and said, "Now that is a Summer Saturday!"

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Jyrup


After a scarring documentary regarding processed food, Ryan and I are doing our best to eat fresh fruit and vegetables, as noted with our baby garden (it looks like a bush from far away – it has gone crazy!), and smoothies to substitute the ice cream cravings.  But summer always reminds me of freezer jams, canned fruit and pickled veggies.  I wanted to give it a try!  So, last weekend, my dear friend Elora and I picked a couple buckets of cherries, pitted them with our bare fingers, carefully pureed them and added pectin and sugar.

We learned our lesson…follow the pectin directions to the T!  Instead of delicious, thick and creamy jam, we ended up with more of a Jyrup- half syrup, half jam.  Mostly syrup.  But, being that it was our first time, we were still happy with our homemaking efforts. 

With a freezer full of jam I was eager to share with neighbors and friends.  Ryan did the taste test and gave me the “ok”, so I shared some jam with a neighbor and my aunt.  I felt so satisfied with my homemade spread.  However…I regret to say and am embarrassed to admit that this morning I opened the jam to top my toast and it smelled (and looked) yucky.  I sure hope my “gifts” didn’t backfire on any tummies.     

P.S. Ryan and I just realized there is an apple tree growing in our backyard with baby apples already forming!  I will be sure to blog about my applesauce-making efforts as well, and I will do my best to actually follow the recipe :) 




Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Food for Thought

My parents were in town a few weeks ago and we all got a kick out of this (it is from reader's digest):


What's Your Cupcake Personality?

First, choose your favorite out of the following possibilities....


1. Carrot
2. Peanut Butter Fudge
3. Vanilla Squared
4. Chocolate Squared
5. Lemon Berry
6. Red Velvet

Could you decide?

These were our choices: 
Ryan - Peanut Butter Fudge
Lauren - Carrot
Mom - Lemon Berry
Dad - Red Velvet

Now...see what your favorite cupcake says about you...








After reading our results we died laughing!  Ryan is absolutely adventurous, I am definitely the practical type, mom is pure spunk and dad is a romantic at heart.  Who knew food could be the new accurate personality test ;)  




Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Summer is Heavenly

I LOVE SUMMER.  


I think Ryan and I are those kind of people that are emotionally/physically/spiritually charged by the sun.  We tend to have better days after going on a run or post-dinner walk.  After a year of the dungeon (our dark, tiny, icky basement) we now have windows, my new favorite part of any home.  We go on walks and pass by many homes, and I tend to say, "Oh Ryan those windows are just beautiful" when most normal people would probably comment on the size/color/style, I am all about light and openness.  


We have been itching to go on a little camping trip, and thanks to our get-it-done-kinda-gal friend Kelsey, we planned one!  Two days before!  And it worked out fabulously!  Friday we loaded up our things into the Yeck's very useful truck, and made our way up the canyon to Rock Port State Park.  After sorting out our belongings and setting up camp, we realized that we forgot our tent...(my bad, I totally thought I snagged it) but those Yeck's come prepared!  Their 8-man tent did the trick and saved our buns - it turned out to be a pretty chilly evening.  


We spent the majority of the evening eating our delicious tinfoil dinners, roasting triple decker s'mores and talking about anything and everything.  Fires are enchanting.  They seem to be a kind of sedative for me, because I feel so calm and content, staring into the flames for hours.  And they seem to trigger the best conversations.  The stars. Eternity. Children. Parenting. Embarrassing moments. First dates. Our happiest moments.  Learning moments.  It was so fun to get to know the Yeck's on an even deeper level.  They are wonderful people and we truly enjoy their company and friendship.


The next morning, after a rough night of chilly, windy, hard-ground sleep, Ryan and I realized the Yeck's were already alive and kickin', scurrying around the campsite!  We were reluctant to go outside since we were finally warm, but we heard Kelsey say, "Ooooo the fire is real warm out here!"  We jumped up and exited the tent, only to find there was no fire.  Kelsey saw our disappointed faces and said, "Oh sorry!  I just wanted you guys to come out of the tent and be with us!"  She's a sneaky one, but it made us laugh.


We packed up, skipped a few more rocks across the river, and made our way to Park City.  It was surreal!  I felt like I was walking around a movie set.  It was a quiet day, sunny day and it was so delightful just walking up and down the streets of downtown.  We were blown away when we realized the lift goes right into town.  We learned that during the winter there are ski racks that line the streets, since most people ski literally into town, eat some lunch, then make their way back up the mountain!  We mostly window shopped, ate at a yummy pizza cafe, and watched Ryan and Mike try some hot hot hot sauces at a local tasting bar.  Those boys were hurting!  


All in all....it was a wonderful adventure.  We feel so lucky to have the time to experience the beauty of Utah, and are grateful to have found some "Oregon" here.  I was a little snobbish my first few years in this state, thinking nothing could ever compare to an Oregon summer.  But, I have learned that if you look hard enough (and really, not that hard in Utah), there is always something wonderful anywhere you are.  I am so happy to have learned that lesson before Ryan and I end up who knows where for Medical school in the next few years.  We have learned to be open and seek out the good and beauty of new places.  


To wrap up this run-on of thoughts, summer truly has been dreamy this year.  Warm days, sunkissed skin, growing gardens, homemade jam, friends around the fire...we are going to milk this summer for all it's worth. :) 

a perfect s'more



normal picture

Ryan - "Let's do something goofy, like this!"
Lauren - "Ohhh boy..."

Ryan - "C'mon honey?! Please??"
Lauren - "I don't know...."

Ryan - "Just do it..."
Lauren - "Ok..."

Ryan - "Yeaahhhh baby"











I think this picture is timeless.  I can picture pulling out a picture album and showing our kids the fun times we had camping :)  






Monday, June 4, 2012

Thursday's Hero

So my husband is a pretty humble guy.  We have been married over a year and I just stumbled upon this video... take a peek :)