My Favorite Day

One year ago, this month, Justin and I where married for time and eternity. We where married in the Mesa, AZ Temple on the 30th of April. It was really an amazing day that I would do over and over again if I could. The weather was beautiful, everything ran smoothly, and there is nothing I would change about it. 

Looking back over the year it has gone by so incredibly fast! I can hardly believe that I've been married for a year. I still feel like we are just barely newlyweds. Marriage is not exactly what I thought it would be but it is definitely worth it and something that I love. We've had our challenges as we both adjust to living in the same house bringing together some totally different routines and ways of doing things. But, it is so nice to be able to hang out and be with each other all the time. As we have leaned how to communicate and work through things I have learned a lot about myself and have grown a good deal too. I am so thankful for Justin and his patience with me. He is always so sweet to me and just wants to make me happy. I really am a lucky girl to have him with me, together forever. 

Healthy Choices...

Growing up in the Hansen household we always ate pretty well. My mom is an awesome cook and my dad is great with the grill. Because my dad is a doctor of natural medicine (Dr.Hansen) he has always pushed for healthy meals. We weren't crazy health nuts but we didn't get a lot of junk or eat out much when I was a kid. My mom would experiment with different veggies to make yummy and healthy dinners. Sometimes it took a lot of convincing to get us to eat but other times we would gobble it up. As I have grown up, I now have more appreciation for the meals my mom would make and the variety of vegetables I have been exposed to. 

Justin and I have decided to try and be more aware of what we are eating and to make healthier choices. If I could I would always have the fridge stocked with lots fruits and vegetables but its not always easy on a student budget. I have decided to avoid sweets and extra sugar where possible. I am a self proclaimed sugar addict and I need to break the habit! It is really hard but I'm starting small. I don't ever plan to cut out all sugar completely but I will definitely cut out a good amount.

One meal my mom used to make is eggplant sandwiches. When I made the suggestion to Justin he was a little bit skeptical but I convinced him to let me make them and they are actually pretty delicious. 

You just bread the thick cut eggplant and fry it in a little bit of vegetable oil.

You toast your bread, add your eggplant, mozzarella and/or parmesan cheese, and marinara sauce. 

Give it a quick broil to melt the cheese...

and there you go! If you don't think you like eggplant, give this a try, and I bet you'll like it!

I know its fried but it is still more veggies and less meat. I like that, and I like to be healthy.

good lookin'... I mean cookin'

I love food. A little too much (as my love handles can attest). Justin and I both have fun thinking of what to make and finding recipes from family cookbooks and using ideas from things we see off like The Food Channel and stuff.

We saw a Rhodes Rolls commercial the other day that suggested you use the rolls as pizza dough. So we had to try it. We made a fancy half mushroom, sausage half leftover chimichurri, steak, tomato pizza. Turned out to be delicious.

A family Pot Pie recipe that was super yummy posted by Justin's cousin. It called for white wine so maybe that's why it tasted so good...

 Our early "Christmas morning" Monkey Bread and dipping sauce. Yeah, we ate the whole thing.

Buffalo Chicken Salad is one of our favorites. Justin batters and shallow fries the chicken. Then we make some buffalo sauce to drench them in before putting it on top of some romaine with black beans, green onion and ranch of course!

I'm so lucky to have a husband that cooks and likes it!

Tweet Me!

Here's a secret about me. I love Facebook for stalking people but that is about it. I hardly ever post anything and I certainly do not make status updates. The last status I had was probably about my wedding... and before that, my engagement... I figure I can't just start putting up status' or people may think I've gone crazy! But the truth is... I kind of want to say random things to the world sometimes. I got an iPhone for my birthday from my man and discovered the beauty of so many other forms of social media. I now love Instagram and more recently Twitter. With Twitter I can just say whatever I want, whenever I feel so inclined! It's awesome! Who cares if anyone really sees it, but I have fun with it. Now I just have to watch that I'm not spending more time on my phone than with my man. Oops!

I have never really made Valentines Day a big deal so this year was really no different... except that I am married now and have a super sweet hubby who likes to spoil me.
We went out to dinner the weekend before Valentines day and planned to see The Vow but it ended up being sold out. (We saw it the next weekend and I wasn't as thrilled with it as I thought I would be.) So for the actual day I just planned to have a nice dinner with Justin and give him a homemade card. When we got home from work/school there was a little white rose on our kitchen table. I was so surprised because I had the car all day, he had to have his friend drive him around. Then I went to the living room and on the side table there was a vase of flowers and some sparkling cider. After telling Justin how sweet and what a great surprise that was, I went upstairs to change and found a whole bouquet of roses on the dresser! It was perfect and I felt so special. I really was not expecting anything at all! Justin cooked an awesome dinner for us of grilled steak, asparagus, and rice. He planned everything out and it was so good! Best Valentines Day yet!

He's such a cutie!

hello new year

2012 means business time. Its a new year and I think it's going to be a good one!!
We had an awesome Christmas and New Years in the gorgeous Arizona with my family. It was so nice to be in 70 degree weather and take a break from our busy work/school schedules. On Christmas Justin and I received some pretty awesome gifts from my parents and siblings. (Thank you!) We ate so well the whole week and got more than our fill of shopping. It was great!

this about sums up my family.

While driving around town I would often catch Justin looking around and saying "yeah we could live here".... Oh YES! I would love to end up back in Arizona for good.
When we finally had to leave it was 80 out as we boarded our first light back to our little house in Iowa on Sunday. We even sat across from Mitt Romney's son on our flight from Minneapolis. That Tuesday we voted in the first Caucus and were so proud that out votes really counted (even though Santorum somehow pulled out the win in the end).
We got back into the swing of things with studying for tests, working out, and trying to get out of work at a decent hour. Right before we left I was released from two of the three callings I had: Activity Days and the Relief Society Board. Then guess where they put me!? In Young Womens of course! If is kind of a scary calling for me because I don't know if I am old enough to have anything good to teach these girls but for the same reason I like being in it because I still feel like I'm a part of the Young Women. So it will be a calling that I'll stress over a lot but I am really excited about it too.
As its a new year and all, Justin and I have made some goals as a family. One goal is to start eating healthier and to workout at least three times a week. We want to have beach bodies by the time we go om my family's summer vacation to St. Thomas.

I went to this beautiful place with my family about two and a half years ago and I am so excited to go back. So Justin and I are saving our pennies and working out at the Palmer gym in hopes that by June we'll look good! I also started to go to Zumba every Saturday and love it! This same studio is where we go salsa dancing and they are opening a new studio closer to where I work. It's really exciting.

It has been a pretty mild winter here they say and I'm just fine with that. It has snowed a hand full of times and I've definitely slid both in the car and on foot a hand full of times as well. I think that this mild winter is a blessing for me and I'm grateful for boots and coats!

Its the Holiday Season...

I love Christmas time! Everything about it just makes me so happy. I truly believe its the most wonderful time of the year!! The smell of pine and baked goodies, the sounds of carols and bells, the crowds shopping for gifts and treats, and the happy spirit that everyone has, it all is what makes me so happy.
We got a little four foot tree that I decorated, and we put up the other very few decorations we have. The Christmas music has been playing since mid- November and my sister even gave me the new Justin Bieber Christmas which is fantastic. N'Sync Christmas is also a childhood favorite to help bring in the season.

My sweet parents are flying us out to Arizona for the holiday and I am so excited! I can't wait to be there with Justin and the rest of my family to celebrate!
My job at the Orthodontic office is going great and I am learning new things everyday. I have made some not so fun mistakes along the way though. (Like knocking over a box on the the floor that was filled with hundreds of the colors that go on the braces. Then I had to sterilize them and sort them again.) Justin is studying like crazy because this 2nd Trimester is the toughest but he's doing well. He always has something cool to share that he has been learning.
It snowed here this week and stuck! I enjoyed watching it... but then I had to go out and drive in it. Lets just say that snow and ice on the streets are not my friend.