Cooking Extravaganza's & Sailing Escapade's

Well I've done a little bit of cooking the past few days and I wanted to share some pictures with you!  First, Steve and I both enjoy a nice hearty breakfast so we cook breakfast just about every morning (that will probably stop once he starts seminary and I get a job.... aka, once we have to wake up at 6am!)  Anyway, I was getting tired of eggs, oatmeal, breakfast burrito's, pancakes, etc.  So, I decided to make a breakfast pizza!  The crust is Pillsbury Crescent Rolls rolled out flat, then you add cooked sausage, cheddar cheese and eggs!!! Yum! ...and so easy!

My next cooking adventure was mastering cookies that don't flatten in the oven... as you can see the first batch didn't turn out the best!  However, the second batch was delicious!  Not exactly puffy like we had hoped for, but at least they aren't burnt!

This last cooking project was making good use of the three peaches we had in our fridge that were getting soft way too fast.  We decided a peach salsa would be a delicious was to solve our dilemma! 

Here is the recipe if  you'd like to try it!

• 3 peaches, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons like juice
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 large tomatoes, dices
• 1 tablespoon finely minced jalapeno pepper, or to taste
• 1 heaping tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 small clove garlic, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion or sweet onion
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• Salt to taste

Mix all ingredients well and refrigerate 4+ hours to let the flavors set.   

I made the cookies and the salsa to take on our Night Sailing trip with the Jackson families!  We met my parents, Mark, Nancy, Summer, Solomon and Sam at Grand Lake yesterday to go night sailing!  We had a blast eating a great dinner at La Vallarta's then taking the boat out of about 3 hours.  At the restaurant Mark had the idea that we all had to pick a number 1-25 from the menu and order for the person sitting next to us... without looking at the menu! After sailing we all just drove back home... needless to say, Steve and I finally crawled in bed at 2:15am!  

Tunnel Tracking & Cache Chasing

What a fun...but HOT day Steve and I had this afternoon.  A few days ago we read online that there are tunnels in downtown Tulsa that connect some of the buildings.  So today, on our day off, we decided to go find them! We parked downtown and asked a few questions to some people and our journey began! We didn't get too far because not all of the tunnels are open to the public, but we were surprised at how up-to-date the tunnels are.  We were expecting old, dingy tunnels, but they are actually very nice and used daily. And we saw some really pretty stained glass too!

Then, after our fun tunnel adventures we decided to try this new type of scavenger hunting called geocaching.  You can download and app onto your phone then look up "caches" in your area. 

"Geocaching is a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS-enabled devices and then share their experiences online."

Steve and I tried to find one downtown, but failed... sometimes, people called "mugglers" steal the caches.  So, our search continued! We went searching for one that was supposed to be in a park close to our house and after about 15 minutes of searching we finally found it!!!

Great Weekend in Tulsa, OK

We had a wonderful weekend tha past few days.  On Friday we went to Tulsa's Annual Salsa Festival.  Here is a clip from the Tulsa Guide about the festival. 

"The weather’s hot, but that’s nothing compared to the habaneros! Salsa music, salsa dancing, salsa tasting, salsa making, and more! (Did we mention the hot pepper eating contest?) What better way to celebrate “local foods week” than by sampling the best of the fresh summer salsa our local connoisseurs can concoct?

Attendants of the festival will have the option to purchase a tasting kit for $5 (includes one bag of chips, a tasting plate and a ballot). Tasters will submit their ballots and the votes will be tallied for the Tasters Choice Award. Celebrity judges will also be on hand."

We also watched a Chiuaua Dog Race where we saw some really funny loooking puppies! Then we enjoyed downtown Tulsa before heading to Cosmo's, a little restuarant in Brookside, with our friends Michael and Tina.  Then we went and watched Thor! Great movie!

 Saturday morning we woke up and went to two Farmer's Markets and got some tomatoes, onions and mint plants to add to our plant box with our basil. Then, I spent sometime at home planting the mint plants while Steve worked on our bikes.  

 Have a wonderful week!

Biking

Steve and I have taken up biking here in our new city which is outfitted with over 80 miles of bike trails.  We just got me a new bike from G Oscars  www.goscarbicycle.com/  in downtown Tulsa.  It is a 1990 Schwinn road bike! 

So today, we went on a 9 miles ride up the river wal trails right by our apartment.  Half way through the ride we decided to cool off :)

Morning at ORU

Steve and I headed to campus this morning to get everything ready for him to start school Aug. 9th. We ran into a few road bumps, but nothing that can't be fixed.  They are just waiting on his financial aid to go through, then we'll be set! 

Ok, ok! The real reason we want to get everything going is because we want to use the gym!  Steve doesn't have his student ID yet which means no access to the facilities.  However, once he gets it and I get the free spouse card we will be set!  We are excited to start playing raquetball again and for Steve to start lifting weights again.

Here are a few pictures we took today!

Updates coming soon!

As you all know it has been 3 months and 5 days since I last posted!  And you probably also know that a lot has happened between now and then. 

1. Steve & I got married (woooo hoooo!)
2. Steve & I went on an amazing honeymoon to Park City, Utah (pictures one my Facebook page)
3. Steve & I moved to Tulsa, Ok

So, life has been crazy! We are all settled in to our new home (apartment) and loving it. I have a wonderful time decorating, trying new recipes and even planting a few spices out on our little patio.  And Steve definitely impressed me with all of the handy work he did around the apartment!  He was busy putting together furniture, hanging pictures and setting anything and everything up! Here are a few pictures!

We transferred to an Olive Garden here in Tulsa and are currently working there until I find a more permanent PR job and Steve will continue working there part time while he goes to ORU.  He eventually would like to work part for a church or something a little more degree related, but it pays the bills until then!

Anyway, before I go I'd like to share our lunch with you!  Steve and I made home-made pizzette, which are mini pizza's.  We made the dough and sauce from scratch then topped them with fresh mushrooms,
artichokes, hame and home-made brushchetta.  They were wonderful!  If you'd like the recipe just send me a facebook message and I'd be happy to share!

Too Long!

So I have learned that my wonderful sister Erica is definitely better at blogging than I am!  I know it has been a long time but I figured it's a good time to update you!

First, wedding invitation will be going out soooon!  Less than 2 months until our big day and we are getting more and more excited by the minute! To make time go by faster we have things going on every single weekend leading up to our wedding, including three other wedding!  We are also having a lot of fun thinking about all the neat ways to decorate and make our day unique and memorable.

We had our last spring break this year and decided to go on a little trip.  Steve, me and five others piled in a big 12 passenger and made our way down to the Lake of the Ozarks for five days.  We decided to leave early to try to avoid a storm that was supposed to hit the next morning but ended up driving right in the middle of it...it meaning a blizzzaaarrrdd!  The usual 3-3 1/2 hour drive took us 5 1/2 hours!  It was crazy!

I also celebrated my 22nd birthday while at the lake!  22 is such a great age!  I will graduate from college at age 22, marry the most wonderful man in the world at age 22, move to a great city at age 22 and start my career at age 22!! Wonderful time in my life!!  Also, Erica made me a wondering batch of sugar cookies that spelled something! Take a look :)

Other than that, life has been crazy busy, but fun as usual!  Working, going to school and planning a wedding! I'll try my best to keep this updated with all the fun stuff coming up!