Elder Banks before he left :)

I was looking in my picture library this morning & found this folder for Elder Banks, and I don't believe I posted this event!!  These are the pictures from Brian's or Elder Banks now farewell Sunday which thankfully I was in-town for :)

I believe this is the picture on the plaque at the church, I could be wrong, but I believe so. 

Mom hosted a farewell Party for Brian that evening with desserts and treats.  I was in-charge of cupcakes, everyone said they were just too pretty to eat, I was flattered :)

This is my last meal with Brian before he left, and this picture makes me laugh, not just bc how silly we look but bc my corn is cut off the cob, my Grandpa Banks used to do that for me bc my front teeth were either loose or gone when he visited so he would cut my corn :)  This time my mom cut my corn bc I just had my wisdom teeth out and I could not open my jaw enough to bite it.  Good memories... Anyway it was fun to see these pics, I was actually visiting Josh in Birmingham, AL when Brian left but I was glad I was home for his farewell & a dinner.  

Us hugging, we actually already said our good-byes when Mom said NO wait I want this on camera, so we had to re-enact it for her.   So I think these look silly, but I think Mom was pleased.   And whoa it is fun to see that Brian has beefed up on his mission, bc here he looks SOOO skinny.  When we skyped with him on Christmas I could see in his face he has filled out.  

A shout-out to my brother Elder Banks, he is going on one year beginning of April, very happy for him.  

What a Week

Josh & I have been adapting really well into married life.  We hit our 2 month anniversary last Friday, and so we celebrated by watching Psych and eating popcorn.  

It was crazy, this week Josh woke up with hiccups, couldn't get rid of them for almost 2 hours, poor guy.  From like 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. he just hiccuped, we tried everything I've ever heard of, finally once they stopped he said his chest was just exhausted and it hurt, and he still wasn't able to sleep.  

And last night for me I woke about 1 a.m. with a pain in my chest, similar to Acid Reflux which I've had before but I couldn't find an Ant-Acid so I just focused on my breathing but my chest just hurt like someone was angry in there and I couldn't lie down anymore.  Went to the couch and sat down hoping gravity would force it down or something.  Finally after 2 hours of un-comfortableness I just prayed that I would feel relief soon and in less than 10 minutes I threw up.  It was horrible and I haven't thrown up in probably 10 years but it definitely relieved the pain in my chest.  Poor Josh, I woke him up but he was sweet and stayed right there with me holding my hair while I threw up.  

I am procrastinating getting up today, kind of worried to rattle my stomach, I am pretty sure it was just unhappy, and that I don't have the flu bc I have no other symptoms.  It was crazy how much my throat and ears hurt, my goodness. My throat burned like 3 hours later and my ears had a mean pressure or something it was not pleasant. 

BUT in good news Josh & I on Saturday watched Saving Mr. Banks, which was really very interesting and I thought an excellent movie.  Don't know that I'd watch it again, but it was very insightful to the making of Mary Poppins.  Which Josh & I then watched Sunday after Church and Josh's meetings.  So that was very fun.  

Islander Lacrosse Game

Josh & I went to an inter-mural Islander Lacrosse game this past Saturday, and it was really fun, neither of us knows much about Lacrosse so we just kind of had to pretend we knew what was happening.  Josh is their faculty adviser, he technically doesn't have to go to games or anything but we thought it would be fun to see some of players he has met play.   I was dressed too warm for the weather bc even though it was windy, the sun was very warm, so a long sleeved black shirt and jeans had me dying.  

We didn't get very awesome action shots, my camera wasn't quick enough, and honestly there were not very many "action" moments, only a few body checks the whole game, but it was interesting to watch. 

We were sitting by a bunch of young college girls who were sitting on the bleachers taking "selfies" so Josh thought we'd be cool too.  But we were glad they had supporters, right now they are using a pretty un-awesome field, so Josh is hoping next year they can start playing on the soccer field which is a nice field.  

One fan got ejected from the game, he wasn't sitting near us, all we could hear was the Ref hollering you're out, you with the red hat, black jacket, you're out, Teams it is your responsibility to keep fans in check.  It was pretty awesome, this middle-aged man started walking back to the cars, we think he was one of the player's dad, and was using in-appropriate language loud enough for the ref to hear.  Still pretty awesome :)

The college crowd, some how we were sitting right next to them, I told Josh next time we come we need to choose where we sit more carefully bc they don't pay attention to the game, and their friends would come and stand right by the edge so the blocked a bit of the game from us.  But our team won, so that was very exciting, Josh & I both decided we'd brush up on our Lacrosse knowledge bc calls didn't make sense and we weren't sure of the different positions for players.  

All in all a wonderful afternoon out with my husband, nice sunshine, cool breeze, and something new to learn about.  

Cooking

I have been cooking a bit since my job search has been so far unsuccessful.  Here are just few of my dinner menus. 

A favorite in our home, bacon wrapped jalapenos that are stuffed with cream cheese - my mom sent us down with bacon, ground beef and a some steaks and it has been delicious. 

My first pinterest attempt with my own home-made Mexican pizzas.  The one on the left is Josh's which is just a few diced green onions and tomatoes, mine on the right was YUMMY!  I topped mine with the diced green onion and tomatoes but added diced olives and slice avocados.  It was really good, the seasoning in the meat was super delicious too, kind of a taco seasoning packet but honestly was better.  The only thing is they don't make great left overs, so I think while it is just Josh & me I'll just do one pie and split it down the side for the toppings. 

The chicken crescents, again staple dinner meal for Josh but this night I decided to add a healthy vegetable as a side, hence the picture, to remind myself to do it more often.  Josh & I are pretty good with fruits and other food portions but not so great on our vegetables.  Josh ate the broccoli just steamed, I added a little cheese to mine.  

This new meal I have mixed feelings about, it was a TON of steps and I'll admit it was tasty, it was just too rich to want to eat more than once.  The chicken is marinaded in a citrus-y liquid 6 hours, the chicken then slow cooks, you shred it up, mix up in an a white sauce, add crumbled bacon, add your bow tie noodles, and it makes a LARGE portion.  I am thankful Josh was good to take it for lunch almost 3 days in a row bc I could not eat more than 2 separate helpings of it.  Way too rich.  

I didn't get a picture but I have successfully made Fettuccine Alfredo twice now, once with chicken, and the second without.  Josh LOVES it, his 2 favorite ingredients are cheese and butter and that is basically all it is, in addition to cream.  But I am excited bc it isn't even than hard to make, just mince some garlic, cook with the butter, add some cream cheese and heavy whipping cream, grate some Parmesan cheese and add at the end.  Super easy and Josh just Loves it.  

I still haven't gotten into baking, and now that the weather is getting warmer do not know how much I'll pursue it, but we shall see.  But it has been nice to be excited about something, even if it is cooking.