Thankful list

Long time no write. Sorry about that. Life got crazy...I'll write about that...later. But I thought, in the spirit of the season I would write a thankful list. I love reading blogs, and many had thankful lists. It was fun seeing what they were thankful for and remembering what I was thankful for.

1. For my family living so close. I can get rather sentimental and so it is wonderful having them so close around the holidays. I love my family. I've never really had to "move away" because I'm from Provo. Since college I've lived away from home, but I always managed to see them at least once a week. Usually more. And I'm going to miss that. A lot.

2. For my dearest David. I couldn't have him be just on one number, so I'll make it several. He cares about me so much. He is always there for me.

3. That David cooks breakfast and makes lunch in the morning for both of us. This allows me to sleep in a few extra minutes--which I need.

4. Notice that I said COOKS breakfast. At least 4 times a week we have a hot meal--and that includes pancakes, waffles, and muffins.

5. For my sweet sister Abby, who always readily gives me a hug and for thinking of ways to brighten their day.

6. For my Little 6 ft 2 inch 15 year old brother who is slowly but surely becoming someone who I can actually talk to. And we both enjoy the conversation.

7. For my beloved sister Kellie, who is the biggest example to me of kindness and selfless service despite  her crazy and busy schedule.

8. For my Mother who was a stay at home mom my entire life and NEVER thinks of herself first. Or second. Or third. She is always looking for ways to help David and I out and I am so thankful for that. And for her unending patience for me.

9. For my Dad. Wow. For his talks/ chats with me about EVERYTHING. No offense, but I don't think anyone could understand the relationship that I have with him. He, along with my mother, has taught me and guided me through the most rocky points in my life. He has helped me understand myself and has never given up on me.

10. For David never giving up on me. He knows exactly who I am and what my weaknesses are. And he knew these things before we got married. And he still wanted to marry me. And was even more determined to do so.

11. For my talent of cooking. And that it is a treat and stress reliever and useful.

12. For heavy-duty wrapping paper

13. For the holiday traditions my family passed down to me. I am excited to introduce them to David.

14. For David's family. I don't know how or why, but apparently they really really like me. And I am grateful I'm not seen as a strange horned toad in their family pond.

15. For David's dad's death. Don't get me wrong. I wish this didn't happen. BUT, I am pretty darn sure that David and I wouldn't have gotten married if this didn't happen. He was shaped and changed because of this experience and is much better for it. I can't wait to meet his Dad.

16. For amazing musical experiences. For the times when you are performing with an ensemble and it just GELS. You are one with everyone else and the power that music creates is beyond anything.

17.  For the times that I have felt loved ones who have passed beyond the veil give me comfort and strength and hope.

18. For the scriptures and the peace it gives.

19. For my ever faithful Santa Bear.

20. For prayer. And that God listens to me.

21. For texting. In my case, it is faster and more effective most of the time than calling. That and you can send cute messages to your significant other.

22. For clean clothing. Or any clothes. And for my favorite outfits.

23. For David and my income and that we have enough to get by.

24. For Grants and Scholarships.

25. For my teacher Dr. Clayton who supports me and stands by my side. For her guidance in not just the flute, but life as well.

26. For my flute. I am so incredibly blessed to have the flute I have right now. I wouldn't be the flute player I am today with out it.

27. For opportunities to play in sacrament meeting and other church functions.

28. For good and loyal friends. You know who you are.

29. For extended family who strive to keep in contact with me despite long distances.

30. Back to David. For his quirky sense of humor that matches mine.

31. That David humors my dramatic speeches

32. That David changed his mind and decided that marrying during college was a good idea after all.

33. That David is a dedicated home teacher.

34. For David unending patience. It never waivers. I don't think there is anything I can do to make him lose his patience. Sometimes I try to make him lose it. He never blows. Nope. Not yet. And I doubt if ever.

35. For the christmas tree my parents gave us. A cute, fake, 4.5 foot tall one crammed with ornaments.

36. For a temple SOOO close by.

37. For the opportunity to get a Master's degree.

38. For amazing flute students who say thank you and actually seem to like you.

39. For hot chocolate. And roasted marshmallows.

40. For Costco Almond Poppy Seed muffins

41. That David is becoming more exuberant to match my own. Either that or his is humoring me. Either way. He's not that boring, home-body I thought he was. NO SIR. Ha. My parents are constantly surprised too, especially compared to my descriptions of him a year and a half a go.

42. For David's ambition to get a PhD in Biomedical Engineering.

43. That David holds my hand when we walk. I see some couples never holding hands when they walk and it saddens my heart.

44. That David wears his wedding ring and will forever. Some people don't. Bah Humbug to them.

45. That David and I are not in debt.

46. For squashes of all kinds. And sweet potatoes.

47. For Google.

48. For Macs. And Apple's creativity.

49. For my father's employment and for virtual chemlab.

50. For Argyle socks.

51. For HULU. I just discovered it. And that Stargate SG-1 is on it.

52. For my Grandmother Stoker's dedication to family. And her AMAZING light as a feather, buttery, rolls that NO one can duplicate.

53. For my Grandmother Woodfield's sarcasim.

54. For my Grandpa Stoker's amazing musical talent that he SHARED it with those around him.

55. For my Grandpa Woodfield's hard work and that he passed it down to my Father.

56. For David's red hair.

57. For the gummy vitamins my mom gave me.

58. For the people who read this blog. I love you. :)

59. For my mom's creative ways to entertain, etc Kellie and I when we were young.

60. For the gospel of Jesus Christ.

61. For many, MANY more things.

One of those weeks

Don't get me wrong. This week was fine. Nothing terrible happened. Nothing made me cry too hard. And nothing I couldn't handle (although at the time I thought so...)

But. I'm exhausted. And the week isn't over. I have a few minutes before I have to leave to play at the Wind Symphony Concert. I'll be happy once Sunday hits..too bad Sunday is just one day.

It was one of those weeks where all my body was craving was sweet, fatty goodness. Let's see. Today I had 3 Reeses cups, 1 subway cookie (all nice and soft. and gooey. and satisfying.) and 2 "fun" size 100 Grand. Yesterday I had creamery Ice cream (pralines and carmel with a cone on top. I never get the cone. But I needed to splurge. Not to mention there was more caramel then ice cream. Ask David if you don't believe me. It was delicious.)

Who knows what I will eat tomorrow.

But I tell myself it is alright. I need it. Literally. I'm not getting any fatter...I think...so far... Sometimes it is the only thing that will get me through. And I think that is ok. We can go too far, like having these sort of cravings everyday for a week. But considering my week and the amount of sleep I have been getting, it is worth it. I will sacrifice a few extra (hundred) calories for the sake of my sanity and my soul.

Rehearsals until 8:30, 9:30, and 10:30 at night, a concert, a competition where you have to be in Ogden at 8:45 in the morning, will get to you. Not to mention everything else.  Maybe not everyone. But I'm tired.

But I think that's ok. It is amazing how prayers will sustain you.

And I will keep going to matter how crazy life gets, because I guess it is the crazy things that makes life worth living.

A rose David gave me while we were engaged. 

Quick Food: Broccoli soup

Who knew Broccoli soup would be so fast and so good? Basically this recipe consisted of butter, broccoli, 1 cup of chicken broth (or water and bouillon) and onion boiled together until the broccoli is tender. And of course salt and pepper. It's then wizzed together with an emersion blender.

It was so simple! If you don't have a cool blender like this: ask for one from dear old Santa.

Or you could put it in a blender, but make sure you fill the blender only half way with the hot soup because the soup expands and is VERY hot. Just trust me with this one.

It ends up looking like this:

Doesn't it look cool? I'm totally making this for Saint Patrick's day. Personally I think kid's would eat this if only because it was green and looked awesome.

I thought it needed a bit more depth of flavor, but David adored it. What I would add next time: bacon crispified and added at the end, one potato for smoothness, and a touch of cream for creaminess.

But it was good as is! Try it! Let me know if you want the EXACT recipe...

year and a half old cookies... sort of.

Perhaps I am sentimental, but exactly a year and a half ago today David and I made snickerdoodles for his birthday. It was ours second date (a month and half after our second) and we made snickerdoodles for a Sunday afternoon activity. I barely considered it a date, but David did, so I'll take it. Little did I know it was his birthday and so I was quite surprised by the balloons on his door decorated by his sister.  It does not need to be said that I thought a birthday date was strange, but I was flattered.

He also jumped higher on my boy interest list by 1) making snickerdoodles instead of boring chocolate chip 2) baking his cookies so they are just slightly under done and 3) his recipe was amazing and equaled my own.

2 Days ago we made snickerdoodles for a baby shower and we waxed sentimental. Here are a few pictures that documented the epic event.

The handsome man hard at work. Notice his apron. I find it very attractive. Also, if you want to know a secret, David did all the work this time. I had a boat load of homework that I did at his feet.

The beatufiul cookies right before we took them out. Notice how puffed and gooey they are. Long gone are the crispy, mournful cookies of the grocery store.

With the last dregs of dough David waxed experimental.

Don't they look cool?

Huh. But the final product was pretty similar. The one on the left was the square and the right the circle with the divot. I wonder what other shapes we could make.

Link to an amazing blog post

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Awesome pins

Disneyland. It's magical. We all know this. But it is certainly most magical ALONE with your newly hubby. :) We went to Disneyland on our honeymoon and it was so much fun. We got special treatment because we acquired the most amazing pins!

We saw only one other couple who wore them, and on the very first day. It provided great conversation starters for any friendly person in line with us. We met an awesome family from Amsterdam. But the best part was having EVERY (literally EVERY) Disneyland employee say Congratulations! It made us feel special. It was interesting noting, the different couples in Disneyland. The VAST majority of the couples our age weren't married. We were definitely an anomaly, and I loved it.

I mean, who wouldn't feel special? David was my Prince Charming and I was his Cinderella. And together we formed a new Reece Family... which we giddily represented by taking a picture next to the R in California.

On a different note, we both discovered an AMAZING ride we both hadn't been on before in California Adventure. We wore a set of 3-D glasses. as we went through the Toy Story themed ride. Each of us had a score board as we raced to see how many bulls-eyes we could make as we shot various targets. It was really cool. In fact, I thought it would please even my father in terms of creativity. The ride even kept a tally of the day's, weeks, and all-time high scores.

If any one is considering going to Disneyland on a honeymoon or get-away, David and I approve most heartily.

Real Dreams

Hello devoted readers:

I really do appreciate you stopping by. Maybe it is sad, but I think all of us love feeling validated by a little comment or being a "follower." On second thought, it's not sad at all, just human nature. That being said, you lucky folks get a preview of my favorite pictures from our wedding reception.

My reception was everything I could ever have hoped for. It was in my backyard which lent an amazing casual and homey feel. And that is what a wedding should be, right? It is all about families and friends. The food was great, the music was fantastic, and everyone stayed and talked to each other. And there was literally not a cloud in the sky the entire day. I have never felt so blessed, so happy, nor so loved. It was incredible. I feel so blessed to have married David. God really does love us. I promise. :)