Friday, January 20, 2012

Our first Halloween

So, I put the PRO in procrastination, but after being reminded by my niece Chelsea that I have a blog, I thought I should update everyone. Clint wanted to have a pumpkin carving night, and I was more than game, but I thought it would be fun to make a contest out of it. He doesn't quite understands why I make everything a competition. ( he hasn't met my brother yet) We had a blast though, and I even got to take pictures with my new IPad. Oh ya, Clint bought me an IPad, after me trying very hard to convince him I needed one. It also helped that I was celebrating my 30th birthday! I know I don't look a day over 21 but that's just because I have great genes! Xoxo - shannon

Thursday, September 22, 2011

I want to be a pirate

This morning, after Clint's alarm went off for the second or third time....It usually takes about 4 times for him to get up and in to the shower (don't blame him, it is 5 o'clock in the morning) Clint squeezed me in closer and whispered in my ear, I want to be a Pirate! Um, excuse me? Lol, he does tend to say some crazy stuff when he is half asleep, but this one tops the list. Boy is it fun learning to sleep in the same bed with someone else. Clint's a snuggler, I am not. He also snores. And regardless of what he says, I know I don't. I am a lady after all.

All this got me thinking. You know in old TV shows, way before my age, (I'm a younging) where the wife and husband sleep in separate beds? You think they where on to something? You got your own sheets, no one could steal  them from you in the middle of the night. You had your own space, Clint tends to lie diagonal across the bed when he falls asleep, leaving me with about a 2 foot square of sleeping space. I am no angel, Clint will complain that I rub my cold feet and toosh on him to try and stay warm. Not to mention, bed types. Clint loves a plush soft mattress, whereas I am all about a hard mattress. I could basically sleep on a wood floor as long as I have my blankie (the blankie drives Clint crazy).

So what are newlyweds to do? Go back to the 50's and get two separate beds, and on special occasions move them together ;)! Or dish out $4500 for the Sleep Number Bed, Thank goodness for 2011! Or just deal with it?

The truth is, I would rather deal with the snoring, the cover stealing, and 2x2ft square space to sleep, as long as I get to be next to My Pirate! I love you Clint!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

You can call me Chef Shannon

So, if you are close to Clint and I, you know we have been put on a strict diet by our "Harvard Graduate" Doctor Julian De Braun Kopps, also known here in Idaho Falls as Dr. DBK! I'm only letting you know he is a Harvard Grad, because while looking for a family physician (we where told newly weds needed one of these) everyone I spoke with recommended Dr. DBK because he graduated from Harvard! LOL, our first trip to his office to get our physicals is a hilarious story that I will get into at a later time since I have already gotten off the subject...What was I talking about again?

Oh ya, our diet....Clint "needs to eat like a rabbit" -Dr. DBK and my "liver is at war, and the insulin, also know as the soldiers have been fighting and fighting, but they don't have any recruits coming in and they are getting warn out"- Dr. DBK in other words he has high cholesterol and I have an insulin resistance problem.

So we have been eating salads. Tons of vegetables (mostly from our parents a.k.a my in laws Brent and Debbie Moore's garden) Which you have to see to believe. This garden is the most meticulously planned garden you will ever see. I swear each plant has been measured at least 5x to ensure accurate planting prior to going into the ground! The thing is amazing. One day I might get a green thumb and be able to replicate it, but I think I'd better just buy a Topsy turvy, and call it a day.

So I am an okay cook...not the best by any means, but I have been in the business for about 15 years, gosh I am getting old, thirty in less than a month, uck.... And since my mother and sister informed my hubs that I actually know how to cook he expects a Martha Stewart kind of meal daily...Yah, thanks Mom and Mel! We have had so many chicken salads with veggies that we are both sick of it. Eating a salad has become torture. If we go out to eat, we split a salad because neither of us really wants to eat it. Hand me a juicy steak and some potatoes already!!!

I have been searching the Internet for something different to help our bored to death taste buds, and I came across a ton of recipes for mango salsa, and, it just so happened I had some mango's in my fridge...(only natural sugars in my diet) so I thought what the heck lets try it out. But of course I don't have a fully stocked kitchen to just whip up any ole recipe on any given day, I had to create my own, and let me just tell you...go back to jail Martha, Paula Dean retire from guilt for all the heart attacks you have caused, and Rachel Ray... I actually like you, but there is a new cook in town....its just that good!!!

Recipe
2 Mango's
1 pint of strawberries (they where in my fridge about to go bad)
2 vine ripened tomatoes (thanks Brent and Debbie Moore)
1 jalapeno (again, thanks to the In Laws, yall rock)
1 bundle of cilantro (make sure you wash this, disgusted by how dirty it is when you get it from the store.)
1/2 tablespoon of sea salt, most recipes wanted Kosher salt, but I didn't have any
1 tablespoon of pepper
1 lime
1 red onion

First chop up your strawberries and place then in a large mixing bowl.
 Then do the same for your mango's. I peeled them first, and Mango's are a bit tricky to cut.
 Cut your jalapeno in half and remove seeds, then finely chop and add to bowl.
 Now cut your tomatoes. I was surprised that most recipes didn't include these...it's Salsa for goodness sake!

 Add salt
 Then pepper
 Chop red onion! Mine was very large so I only used 2/3rds. But it was HUGE!
 Cut lime, and squeeze fresh lime juice into bowl. I like lime better than lemon!
 Mix all Ingredients
 Taste a bit before you put it in fridge, all good chefs do this!
 Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night!
You can thank me later, just add Chicken, Shrimp, or tortilla chips cause this is amazing! ENJOY!

It was really easy to make, took me a total of about 20 minutes, and I was taking pictures, but my husband will be very impressed!

Love, Chef Shannon

Sugar Scrubs

So I have become slightly obsessed with Pinterest! If you don't know what I am talking about check out my page http://pinterest.com/shannonbmoore/ Anyways, I found a couple of recipes for sugar scrubs that I decided to try out! We are doing Christmas on a budget, since we are newlyweds, looking at buying a new home, and trying for a baby! After checking out tons of different recipes I decided to make my own and boy is it delish!

I used
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 cup of granulated sugar
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

Not completely satisfied with the presentation (it looked like wet sugar in a jar) I used the lemon peels to make some lemon zest, along with lime zest! this gave the scrub yellow and green specs that's I though added to the look! Also added to the fragrance!!! BONUS!

So how did it work? Well, after washing some dishes my hands smelled of dirty sponge so I decided to try out my new creation.... left my hands smelling citrus fresh and very soft.

This was just a trial run, and I plan on making up some more recipes before I decide on the ones I will be gifting this Christmas, but I am happy to report it was a success. I have read on a few blogs that you should use sunflower oil (less of a scent) so I am going to pick some of that up before round two!

Here's a pic of the creation:

Not decorated , or in the jars I planned on using, but you get the point!

Newlywed Couple Chore Chart

So, I know I am not the easiest person to live with... just ask my roommate's from college. But I never imagined my husband would be as difficult, if not more.

I like things done a certain way. For instance;
When you vacuum, you need to make straight lines in the carpet, otherwise you've waisted your time. When you fold towels you should fold them in thirds, and then in thirds again so they store in your linen closet nicer (plus this is how you hang them on your towel racks) Closets should be organized by color and then sleeves, and shoes should be in pairs and organized. All condiments should be front faced like a grocery store, and never fight the urge to label where something goes!

Clint has his own preferences;
He must sleep on the left side of the bed. When you use the shower you have to make sure you turn off the shower then the water, to prevent the next person turning on the water from getting an unexpected shower. All vitamins and meds should be stored in the kitchen near the glasses and water so you can take them in the morning. You must keep a "reserve" pile of work clothes, just in case. The check book register needs to be filled out daily, and all receipts and debits must be accounted for daily (YOU CAN NOT RELY ON ONLINE BANKING EVER!

We have also learned a couple things about one another that drives the other crazy, a few examples so that you understand our state of frustration before getting into the main reason for this post which is our newly implemented coupes chore chart....

1. Clint showers 2x a day, when he first wakes up, and as soon as he is home from work. He always without fail, throws his wet towel on the bed, and leave it.
2. When I shower (and I do not do this as soon as I wake up, it takes me a bit, which drives him crazy) I wash my hair and always get some strands of hair that fall out of my head. I then take the hair in a circular motion on the shower wall, and create what Clint calls a Wookie. I might or might not forget about it, and leave it on the wall.

So, needless to say our first couple months of marriage have been a learning experience. One thing we definitely could not see eye to eye on where Chores! And apparently this is a problem for a lot of newlyweds. Thank goodness, because I thought maybe we where just nuts (of course this has still not been ruled out.) I would expect him to do certain things around the house like take out the garbage. and he would expect me to do stuff like laundry and dishes....(Does my husband even know me? j/k!) I guess we never really discussed one anothers expectations for our home. So before pulling my hair out (I would of course make a WOOKIE, just to really get him urked!) I googled couple chore charts.

I was surprised to see that there are many different chore charts to chose from, but when I approached my hubsters with the idea, he laughed. I guess it does kind of sound like I raided the local elementary to solve our marital mishaps, but  I was persistent (one of my greatest qualities). So the next night we went to dinner, and I presented my husband with an adult version of a chore chart....but we will just call it "TASK MASTERING" for that is the title of the document I found at www.thenest.com. P.S. what a great website BTW! Here is the link:
http://ideas.thenest.com/decor-tricks/home-painting-diy/articles/checklist-task-mastering.aspx?MsdVisit=1

So, I printed out 3 copies of the list, and at dinner that night I gave Clint his blank copy to fill out, while I filled out my own.

We compared lists and laughed at how different we saw one anothers roles in our home. After we got a good laugh in, and our waitress asked us what we where doing, we used the 3rd blank copy and divided the chores! I have more of the daily chores and Clint will be keeping up with the weekly chores since he works more hours than I! We decided what days we would be doing the weekly and monthlys and put it in to play.

The results: Today is only day one, so I don't want to be overly ecstatic, but I think we have started a good thing! I woke up this morning, knowing what I had to do. I packed Clint's lunch while he showered, emptied the dishwasher, cut fruit for the week, prepared dinner, bathed MacKenzie our Yorkie, cleaned out Blues fish tank, cleaned the kitchen, organized the fridge. Clint came home to dinner on the table, took out the trash, and cleaned up after we ate! I feel like I got so much more accomplished today because I wasn't overwhelmed with everything that needed to be done. Hopefully we can keep this up, or else I will be leaving WOOKIES in the shower everyday without fail!




Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Making a Blog

This is so not my thing, but I am going to give it a try! My brother started an amazing blog for my adorable niece www.MissCharliWest.blogspot.com, which has inspired me to let all of you folks into the lives of My husband Clint Moore and I! Wish us luck!