Seth and Mariah: 2010

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I love this time of year. So does anyone else think there are too many Black Friday Crazies out there?!? I haven't ever really had the desire to stand in long line and freeze to save a buck, but now thinking about it, I don't think I have ever seen something that I really really wanted for an amazing deal. Maybe if I had kids and their toys or something were on sale, then maybe just maybe I would think it would be worth it. However, this year my sisters and I decided to go to the Outlet Mall that opened at 11 pm Thanksgiving night and see if they had any good sales at DownEast Outfitters (it didn't require standing in line). I ended up buying some jeans for Seth and some cute shirts at Urban Wear, but it wasn't really much of a deal. There were so many people we couldn't even find a place to park.

I think more than the good deals, it is about doing something out of the normal, or keeping up tradition, or even just getting excited for the Christmas holiday. I am sure there are some great deals to be had, but I just can't bring myself to campout in the cold long lines. I guess it is pretty exciting for some people though. When we got home at 2:30 in the morning, Amy headed back out to go to Target and Kohls. I decided to go to bed. It took me a good 30-45 minutes just lying there in bed to finally fall asleep, I guess I was all excited to have Seth try on his new jeans and hoped he liked them....they are really cute. So I guess I understand a little bit more the big hoop-la, but not really. Anyone care to enlighten me on other reasons they love Black Friday?

My Grandpa McArthur had his 90th birthday this month on the 1st. We had a big party for him in his childhood home (located next door to my parent's home). He had a huge showing, it was like a wedding reception times 2. He was just glowing the whole time and had such a great time. It was funny because he loves to tell stories and so he had a long line of people waiting to wish him happy birthday because he just couldn't let people walk away without hearing a story. He is one amazing man with an AMAZING memory. I don't know how he remembers details from years ago, but he does. He still makes bread and scones every week. Seth and I got to go and eat scones on Saturday morning and it has been awhile since we had been able to do that, so it was good to go. I love that man!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Reminiscing

It is our 4 year anniversary of the first time Seth and I 'got together' to call Sierra Dabell, our mutual mission friend. We had met at a mission reunion the night before and decided get together to try and call Sierra the next day. So Sunday we met at my apartment and called her. That night was very memorable. After we were through talking with Sierra, we talked for a really long time. Seth was hungry so I fed him some Easy Chicken Pasta (which he loved) that I had made earlier that day. He asked me out that night for the next Saturday night and of course I said yes. Seth says he remembers making me and my roommate Becca laugh a lot that night and he remembers he asked for a hug before we said goodbye. A quick-mover he was.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Pictures That Needs Posting

Above is a pic I shot of Kylee and Jon as they were leaving their reception. Don't you just love how happy they are, what a fun day it was!

So I just have to post this picture below of Drake again. I am liking it in black and white; it lets you focus on his precious details.

The picture below is all the girls at 'Time Out For Women' in St. George. It was pretty fun, mostly because we all got to be together. We are going to it again this year in Salt Lake, except Kylee won't be with us. :(

This one is from awhile back, actually from our engagements, but I changed it from a color photo to a sepia and made some other adjustments.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Boots

SEE BOOTS JUMP.......

SEE BOOTS CLIMB.......

SEE BOOTS CHILL.......

You like my new footwear? I am a big boot fan, always have been. In St. George growing up, not a lot of people wore them so I always felt a little 'out there' wearing knee high boots in St. George, but when I moved up north, it is an essential with the cold weather. So that is one thing I am grateful for-an abundance of selection and not having to get any weird looks when I wear them.

SEE BOOTS PICTURE TAKER.......

Seth wouldn't hold still for me to take a picture of him so I had to run in front of him and then try to snap one while he was walking...Stinker. Well I realized I get a new sense of life and hobbies after October 15th. Same thing happened last year. We are finally through with tax season and all the extensions so I have time to slow down and ponder life a lot more, which I enjoy. I also like to start back up any neglected hobbies and other items that get put on the back burner during the craziness of tax season and the summer. It is a good time of year, with football, Thanksgiving and the beautiful colors....although that means winter ie. freezing weather is just around the corner....

Saturday, August 14, 2010

On Top of the World!

So maybe I am not on top of the world, but I felt pretty close at the top of Mount Timpanogos. Last week Seth went backpacking with the Young Men and so I decided it was the time to do some more hiking myself since I haven't done any this summer. Okay I have, but can you ever really do too much hiking? Well Mt. Timp is one hike that has been on my bucket list for a very long while. I had always heard horror stories about it and how long it was so I was always nervous to go. But I decided I just had to do it and especially since who knows how much longer we will be living in Utah Valley after Seth graduates from law school next spring.

My friend Leticia from our ward was going and asked if I wanted to go along, so I did. And it was so beautiful! It was long and lots of uphill just like I had anticipated, but I hadn't anticipated how beautiful the scenery would be along the way. We passed three waterfalls, lots of wild flowers, mountain goat, a pretty blue lake, and a great view from the top. It was well worth all the effort and I would even consider doing it again!

You can see Emerald Lake in the background. That is the lake you pass on your way up to the top. It is actually really blue and very pretty when you are up closer to it.

This is a small glimpse of all the beautiful wildflowers we saw on our hike.

A little while ago I was just browsing through some prior year posts of mine and remembered some good stories and things that I had forgotten about. I guess that is why this blog is a good thing, it has some good memories in it. I haven't yet put it into a book. Have any of you done that? If so, what website have you used and do you recommend it?

Well speaking of memories, I decided I better mention one so I don't forget about it: A couple of weeks ago I went to this Republican Fundraising luncheon held at the Lion House in Salt Lake. While I was there I met Senator Hatch and Senator Bennett and shook both of their hands. I felt a little out of place because the room was full of very wealthy people, but it was very interesting and some good food!

Also last night our Ward had a Ward Campout up Payson Canyon. I had to convince Seth to go since he was all camped-out after his backpacking trip with the YM. He finally consented after much bribing, so we had a fun, short little camping trip. Seth thought if we took enough blankets it would be padded enough we wouldn't need a mattress. After last night, I have to say that theory fails. I much prefer an air mattress. I guess we'll have to invest in one before we try that again. It was still a success though, I was happy we went.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Happy Pioneer Day

An excited Seth at the top of Ensign Peak overlooking the Salt Lake Valley

This is me in front of the Ensign Peak Monument. Maybe you can read what the plaque says...

So we are enjoying our July 24th holiday! I think it is great to get another holiday in July. I will be sad one day if we move from Utah I won't get a 2nd July holiday anymore. What a sad day that will be. We decided to get out and do some fun things this weekend. So Friday morning Seth and I went and hiked up to Ensign Peak in Salt Lake. It was a short little hike and a pretty sweet view from the top. I tried to imagine what the valley looked like when Brigham Young stood up there, nothing close to what it looks like now. Besides the skyscrapers and the U of U campus, most of it looked like trees everywhere, which is not what it looks like when you are actually down there. It was interesting. After that we did a little swimming and then got back to Provo in time to catch the matinée for Seth's new favorite movie 'Inception'. We haven't been to a movie in quite some time and Seth was feeling a little deprived. I think he quite enjoyed the show. I had been told it was a 'mind boggling' show so I tried really hard to pay attention and try to understand what was going on. I think I followed just about everything. I had to ask Seth a few questions at the end to make sure I understood everything. I actually enjoyed the movie as well. It was a pretty good one.

Me at the top of the Cascade Saddle

Another view from the top

Today Seth had plans to go paint-balling with the boys but plans fell through. I wanted to do another hike, so I went with the family we rent our apartment from, the Pace's, well the Mom and two of her daughters. We had planned to leave at 6 am and do a 5 mile hike and be back so she could get back to feed her 2-month old baby, but 5 miles actually turned into 13 miles!!! It is a long story, but basically once we figured out we had gotten on another trail and were half-way up, it was like, 'well we are already this far we might as well finish' so we did. The hike is called the 'Cascade Saddle' and it is quite a little hike, pretty steep at some parts. The original hike we were planning on doing was called 'Big Springs' hike which we did and the springs were very pretty. It is up Provo Canyon and you take the Vivian Park turnoff and go another 3 miles or so and you'll find the trail-head up there. It was very beautiful, but my feet are pretty tired. I think I'll sleep well tonight.

Caitlyn and Me at Big Springs

This is a moose we saw while on our hike. It was actually pretty close. After it had some more to eat, it took off up the mountain side and actually crossed over in front of our path. Not dangerously close, but pretty close. It was fun to watch him climb up the mountain side.

Seth is enjoying his internship in Salt Lake and has about a week and a half left before he is done. He is planning on going on a Young Men backpacking trip the first part of August. I am already jealous, that sounds like a lot of fun to me.

Here are some random pictures from the summer:

Seth, Me, Kylee, Jon hiking up in Pine Valley (back in May)

Seth getting ready to hit 3 for 3 on his skeet

Me taking my turn. I didn't do so bad either.

This is me and my Dad doing the hike on the way back from Lake Powell (back in May) which I can't remember the name of the hike at the moment. Seth was taking the picture, but he was there. If you notice the sweet rock formation behind us to the left, it is a pretty good balancing act. That is due to some erosion of the lower layer leaving these little toad-stool type rock things. Pretty sweet. In about 30 minutes I'll remember the real name of these rocks.

Me hiking in Snow Canyon in St. George with Seth and Cody (back in May)

All the girls at Girls Camp located at Mia Shalom on our hike (June)

So after I put in all these pictures, I realized I have done some pretty fun hikes this summer. Yeah for hiking!

I really need to do a deep clean of our apartment, but I don't really know the best place to start. I think dust and cobwebs are my least favorite things....Why do they just have to keep coming back? It is like 'I just got rid of you, please go hang out somewhere else'. And our vacuum broke so we need to get it fixed. Also I really need to have our carpets cleaned or something, they are pretty dirty.

Thanks for everyone's comments on my last post, I liked everyones insight and it has helped. Thank you!!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Yummy Strawberries!

Well we are finally back in Provo and it is weird. It has been 4 months since we stayed at our home for longer than a week, so it feels good to be back and settled. Here are some strawberries from our little strawberry patch. Don't they look so scrumptious? What a fun welcome home treat it was to see our little patch thriving and growing. We love strawberries and we are very pleased they stayed alive and well while we were gone (with a little help from our landlords, thanks!!) So we had to celebrate Father's Day with a little smoothie for Seth. Seth starts internship #2 on Monday at the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office. He loved the one in St. George, and he has found he really enjoys prosecution, just like he thought that he would.

So here a picture of the little tyke that was born in the truck with only his Mom there to deliver him. What a handsome little guy he is. They named him Drake Monson Kesterson. I was lucky to be able to hold him so often during the last 6 weeks, it was such a treat for me. I asked if I could take him home with me, but my sister didn't go for that. He is a pretty well-behaved guy, but pretty spoiled with being held all the time....But I just can't resist.

I just think this picture with him yawning is so cute. And here is my superwoman of a sister! She seriously is amazing and not just because she delivered her own baby when he was born, but because she has so many Christlike characteristics. She is amazing, that is the best word to describe her.

So on a completely other topic, sometimes I think my brain comes up with some crazy ideas of things I wonder if I/we should act on. I sometimes wonder if these are promptings from the spirit or just my mind running through life's possible scenarios. I don't know if that makes sense without giving a lot more background, but sometimes I just wonder if some of the various ideas/things that come into my brain are more important than just random thoughts and if I should really pursue different ideas. Does that make sense to anyone? Or do any of you relate? How do know differentiate between the two? Any suggestions? I know prayer plays an important role but would love to hear your thoughts....

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!! Thanks for all your comments. Sorry I have been slacking in the blog department of my life.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

St. George in May

Well I know it has been 3 months....we've been a little busy....let me update you....

1. Seth broke his collar bone playing rugby with the young men the week before April 15th (April 6th to be exact)

2. Mariah worked 220.5 hours from April 1 to April 15th. :)

3. We spent 3 nights in Park City at the end of April to relax after busy season. (It snowed the whole time, but it was nice and relaxing)

4. Seth started his internship at the Washington County District Attorney's Office May 3rd and is really enjoying it.

5. My little sister Kylee got married to Jon Rogers April 17th (they were nice to wait until after busy season) Thanks sis!! (It was a beautiful wedding by the way)

6. We moved to St. George for 6 weeks and are staying at my parent's house.

7. My older sister Melissa had her 5th child last week. A little boy. She delivered him all by herself in their truck in the parking lot of the hospital. My bro-in-law missed the delivery since he was running to get a nurse. She is superwoman!

8. Our car had to have a major overhaul and was in the shop for 4 days....not fun for the budget, actually wiped out our car budget for the next 4 years, but hey, she is running sound and should last another 100,000 (fingers crossed). She already has reached 215,000 miles.

9. I had a birthday, hooray! Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

10. I am working remotely from my home in St. George for these 6 weeks and it is working wonderfully so far. I am loving the commute! 10 steps from the bedroom to the computer, sure beats the bus from Provo to Salt Lake!!

Well I will post pictures soon!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Happy Birthday Seth!

So Seth had his birthday last week and I threw him a surprise party. There was quite a turnout, not what I was expecting, but it was great! Luckily I tend to over-prepare, so I had made a big chocolate sheet cake and some cherry/peach cobbler with ice cream of course. There were over 50 people there so it was one crowded house, but lots of fun. Seth was very surprised although he claims he 'saw it coming'. I know Seth and he was completely clueless until 5 minutes before we were on our way over, then he finally considered the thought, but I don't think he thought about it too seriously. It was super fun. I took my camera and our video camera, but with all of the craziness of people and everything, no pictures were taken. :( I know, sorry! I had good intentions. But I did take a picture of his little cake. It is supposed to be a cupcake, although it kind of looks like a Christmas tree. :)

It was lots of fun to surprise him. I love surprises and he hadn't really ever really had a big birthday celebration, so it was fun to give it to him and for him to see how many people support and love him. It was such a fun day. Thank you to everyone who came and supported him. It really meant a lot to him and to me. He was so happy, I couldn't help but be happy.

Here he is with the boys and his new birthday present: a paintball gun.

I don't think the camo outfit disguised him very well in the snow.

Here is our car. If you notice, there is no plowed road behind my car. You can see some tire marks in the snow in the background. I didn't know we would be off-roading in the unplowed snow to get to the paintball location. I was driving and just following the leader. And some boys in our ward followed us in a Chevy Mini-van. Lets just say it was not fun for the boys to get all of the cars back out of this location. After all was said and done, one almost lost his hand, another one threw up, some of them got snow in their face from falling behind the car whose wheels were spinning, and all of them were very sore the next day from pushing cars. Great fun!

And here are my latest freebies:

I will have to take a leave of couponing for the next few months. Probably blogging too since tax season is underway. Maybe I will sneak in a post here and there. PS I had never tried those Quaker 'Quakes' (rice cake things) but they are actually pretty good, Seth even enjoys them.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Websites that I Follow to Get Good Deals

www.mavenofsavin.com - she usually does the best Rite-Aid scenarios
www.fabulesslyfrugal.com
www.savvyshopperdeals.com - I use their shopping wizard
www.forthemommas.com
www.utahdealdiva.com

Good Luck!!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

More Couponing

So a couple were interested in what I do for couponing. Here is the first website that I started looking at: www.savvyshopperdeals.com. She has some videos on there that you can watch to get you started. Then I actually attended one of her free classes, very helpful I might add. What I do in a nutshell:

I subscribed to 'The Daily Herald' (I only get the Sunday paper which has the coupons)
I cut my coupons every week and organize them in a binder by category
I check up on some peoples blogs who post good deals or I use the 'Shopping Wizard' on the SavvyShopperDeals.com website and it shows me where and what the good deals are.

There are a whole lot of people out there that have blogs that describe all the deals and it seems like the coupons are the same across the country, except for local grocery chains. Anywhoo...I will make a list of some of the websites/blogs I check so you can see what they do.

My experiment today: Laundry Soap!

So I got an email from Seth's Grandma Jean and she had forwarded this recipe to make homemade laundry detergent. So I thought why not try it. It would be a lot cheaper. So here is the recipe, the ingredients, and the result!

Pretty simple instructions, but I still managed to get them wrong. :)

These items can be found in the laundry detergent aisle at the grocery store. They are reasonably priced from what I can remember. I bought them about a little while ago so I don't recall the exact prices.

So here are the results. Note, the recipe only makes 2 gallons and you can see I have 4. That is because I accidently stuck the entire bar of Fels Naptha soap in the water the first step and you are only supposed to have 1/3 of the bar. So then I was supposed to triple the recipe, but I didn't have a large enough pot to do it in one batch so I just doubled the rest of the ingredients and hopefully that doesn't throw it off too bad.

Other note: make sure shake your mixture well. One of the gallons was a harder one to shake since there was no handle and so it didn't get as much shaking as the other ones and it is kind of solidified. I don't know if it is because I have too much Fels Naptha Soap in it or because I didn't shake it enough. The other three seem to be fine. I washed a load today with the soap and it seemed to do the job just fine.

Anyways, there is another money saving tip for you thrifty people out there.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Happy New Year!

So it has been awhile....what in the world have we been up to? Just celebrating Christmas and the New Year. Pretty exciting let me tell you! Actually I pretty much had to work the whole break. No worries though. Seth had a nice 2 week vacation, way too short though with everything he had to do. The picture above is of some cheesecake cups I made for a party that we went to, they were pretty tasty. We all had to make something with cream cheese. Lets just say there were lots of tasty treats there!

So my latest thing to do: COUPON! I have seen those ladies around with their coupon binders and have always wondered just how much they save....Or do they really just end up spending more all in the name of 'getting a good deal'? So finally my budgeting-self just couldn't let it pass me up any longer without finding out just how much truth there is to the system. I have a rule though: I will not spend $ on anything that I would not buy anyways, unless it is free. So even though I could get Hersey Kisses for .20 cents a bag, I wouldn't because that is .20 cents I wouldn't have spent anyways. So I am determined not to spend anymore than I normally would.

And here are the result. I started the last week of November, so not quite two months yet. I have been told it takes a couple months to get the hang of it, and I would have to agree. I am still trying to get a system going. But I just wanted to share the completely FREE stuff I have gotten so far. The following pictures are only the FREE items I have bought. I have also gotten some really good deals on cereal, lunch meat, and a couple other food items, but have not included them in my FREE collection.

Warning: Couponing takes a lot of effort, but it does seem to yield good $$ savings. I am still in the learning process, but if you have questions on what I do, feel free to ask. :)