"Everybody, Uchtdorf is in the building!"

So, quick update. Last week, we had the awesome experience of having President Uchtdorf attend a ward that worshiped in the same building as ours. :) No, he didn't attend our ward, sadly. But, as I was walking out of Sacrament, I heard someone in front of me say "Hey! Isn't that President Uchtdorf?" I turned my head to the side, and he was less than 5 feet away from me. I couldn't do anything but stop and stare! Hahahaha. He was there with his wife for a great grandson's baby blessing.

He didn't come to any of our classes, but we were having ward conference and the stake presidency was there. So, in the last few minutes of Relief Society, the stake president comes in to talk to us. He said he was sitting with Pres. Uchtdorf and explained that he had to go to visit a group of Relief Society sisters. AKA, my RS class. :) Our stake president said that Pres. Uchtdorf put his arm around the stake president and said "Tell those dear sisters that we love them, and that God loves them and that we are grateful for everything they do" Ok, well I can't remember the exact wording, but that was what I remember. As our stake president said that to us, my eyes got all teary. We, myself included, got a shout out from President Uchtdorf. Could life get better?!! I submit that it cannot!

That was the buzz for all of Sunday. So, what did we do in our Sunday school class? (Which is after Sacrament.) We texted all our family members to tell them who we just saw. Welcome to Provo.

-SamiMae

Updates!

Our "Healthy Eating" blog is going through some renovations. I've discovered, that not only is it important to cook healthy food, but cooking in and of itself is an experiment! I've been cooking new recipes almost every night. It's always and adventure and interesting.

This blog, might eventually include health and fitness. I'm getting into yoga, which is super awesome. We'll see what this evolves into as it warms up. :)

-SamiMae

Need a Good Laugh?!

Do you need a good laugh? Check this link out! Trevor and I actually looked up the product on Amazon. It's real! HAHAHA.

BEWARE OF THE GUMMY BEARS!

Jones's January Newsletter

So our each family in our extended family is putting out a monthly newsletter. This helps us all learn what's going on with each family and their kids. Trevor and I put together a newsletter. The newsletter shares a bit more than what I normally post. Click on the link below!

CLICK HERE!

-SamiMae

5 lb Roast!

So, in my freezer I have a few 5 lb roasts. (A wonderful gift from my aunt.) These roasts are of high quality and can feed a TON of people. My favorite thing to do is to cook a roast, (I love coming home to the smell.) and put it into baggies, and freeze it again. So that way, for a quick dinner, I can pull out a baggie and make a meal from it. My latest roast, I got 13 baggies out of it. That's 13 dinners! This is super helpful and so worth it! A HUGE thanks to my AUNT SUZIE! These are so super helpful to have, and the taste is amazing. These roasts are the best beef I've ever had. :)

I cut the meat a few different ways. Some baggies, i cut the meat into cubes so I can make beef stew. :) Some of the beef I shredded, for enchiladas. I also sliced some, for beef sandwiches. Some of the beef, I just sliced and have in a slab. That way, I can decide the night I use it, how I want it cut. These make for quick meals and would recommend it to anyone! Happy cooking!

-SamiMae

Don't forget the Eggs!

So, yesterday I was craving sugar. I had one box of Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies left. Trevor and I were both STARVING. So I began to work on our vegetable grilled cheese sandwiches. I asked Trevor to make the brownies. Sometimes when I ask him to do something, I'll get the urge to micromanage him (mainly when it involves cooking). I fight that urge really hard, because I know how annoying it can be. So, I just continued to make our sandwiches and let him make the brownies.

Well, he makes them and we put them into a 9x13 pan and pop it in the oven for the recommended time of 25 minutes. Meanwhile, we sit and eat our sandwiches. After 25-30 minutes of cooking, I open up the oven and find this:

Yes, those are bubbles. I was just kind of mind-boggled. I had never ever seen something like this before. I watched as the bubbles would form, and then pop. Soon, we realized what he forgot to add in. Eggs. The 2 eggs did not get added into the brownies. Just so everybody knows, this is what happens when the eggs aren't added into the brownies. After it cooled, it became rock hard. We had to soak the pan overnight to remove it. No brownies for Sam....I was bummed, but I didn't need them anyway. HA!

I love Trevor. We both just laughed. It was some great humor that we needed. He's a good sport. Lesson learned. It was a great science experiment.  Next time, we won't forget the eggs.

-SamiMae

Quick Update!

Well Trevor and I were able to take 2 weeks off and head up to Idaho for Christmas and New Years. During this time we had the WHOLE family up. (Including the Hunsaker's from Kentucky!). The stomach flu got passed around. (I had it on our first day up there.) Christmas came and went, as did New Years. Trevor and I had to move apartments (with the help of family). The we had Aidann's baptism to end the trip! It was awesome and fun. It was nice to see my family after 3 months of not seeing them. We took a ton of pictures and many posts will be coming!

Now we are back in school. Trevor just had his second day of classes (and feeling even more like an engineer). I'm blasting through my very first accounting class! (which I'm LOVING!) And, I'm back to work at SexyModest. We are all settled into our new apartment, which is on the third story.

We love our new apartment, the third story was the best decision. We get exercise going up and down the stairs. We lift weights as we carry our groceries in the house. But the best part is, no streetlight shining in our eyes at night! Hahaha. There is also more privacy. On the main floor, it was weird to be eating breakfast at our table and have another person walk by our window and wave to us as we eat our cheerios. Also, on the third story, the sun hits our balcony so I can have a container garden this summer! YAY!

We attended our new ward on Sunday. It's AWESOME! We really think this will be good for us, and have already met quite a few members of the ward who are super cool! We meet in the multipurpose building which feels a lot like the institute building our old singles ward meets in. So, there is a bit more familiarity.

Anyway, life has returned to normal and is progressing and moving forward. We are lovin life! Hope you are too!

-SamiMae

The Hormone Diet

A few weeks ago, after a visit to my doctor, I learned I have PCOS. (Poly-cycstic ovarian syndrome). It's genetic in my family, and now I have it too. I wasn't too surprised, just disappointed. But it was nice to finally have some answers. My miscarriage through off my hormones big time. So my doctor prescribed me some birth control to take to help level things out.

It's helped a lot. But I've also realized that I have to make a lifestyle change. Because of past eating habits, and maybe some genetics, I'm tend to have higher insulin levels. Or in other words, I'm insulin resistant. My body mass produces it because I get sugar cravings, and give in, and then crash. So my body's over producing it to compensate. After doing some research of my own, I've determined that a low-glycemic diet is the best thing for me. I did it for one week (before the holidays) and boy I saw a huge change. My acne cleared up, I had higher energy levels, and lost 2 pounds without doing anything. 

Among my research, I came across the book called The Hormone Diet, by Natasha Turner, ND. I really like her book. She shows the science behind our hormones and how they effect us and what we can to to affect them! She has three steps in her Hormone Diet. I'm on the first step right now, which is to get proper sleep and to do a two week detox.

This detox is a little...intense. Basically all common allergy foods are removed. Corn, wheat, peanuts, etc. Today I went shopping for food. I've found me a few recipes that I'm excited to try. I think it'll be good. Tonight's dinner was great! I'll post that later. I've also got fruit to make smoothies in the morning and cooked chicken for salads for lunch. I'm excited to get my hormones back in balance and get healthy. I could use the energy as well!

I would recommend The Hormone Diet to anyone. This isn't a new "fad". It's backed by science and studies. It doesn't call for anything that isn't common sense or radical. Give it a try!

- Samantha