Its been a while!!

So, happy halloween, a few days late I know. But nothing to exciting was happening up here at our home this halloween. John and I had a good time carving our pumpkins, we are definately not professionals as you can tell by our jack o lanterns. But having those beatufully carved pumpkins all lit up on Halloween night did not work to persuade trick or treaters to our house. I was all ready with candy but hour by hour passed and no one came. Kind of sad, I was looking forward to having some cute little trick or treaters. John and I did not dress up this year, and no exciting halloween parties. Oh well, maybe next year we can do some more celebrating.


John enjoys showing off his work from the dental lab. In school they were able to choose some fun teeth to make and John made nothing else but a nice gold Bling Bling Grill. Isn't he attractive, yeah right. I can not look at him when that thing is in. I am glad for nice teeth, thats for sure.

It has been a while since I have blogged I know, my computer's harddrive failed on me, luckily it was still under warrenty so it will take no money from my pocket, but I did lose some things that were not saved elsewhere, which kinda stinks, but now I have a new harddrive and working computer!

Its started snowing out the other day, it was so pretty, luckily it did not turn into another disaster! Its just really cold now! Welcome to winter!
Later!!!

update on the cake decorating

Last night, was my second cake class. We learned lots of stuff, including the decor on the cupcakes, clowns, flowers, also fruit, faces and teddy bears. Lots of fun things to put on cupcakes. I am enjoying class, and have fun decorating. Here are a few pieces of my work!!!
Feel free to stop by and try a cupcake!!

John doing what!!!

Yes, John is not only in the kitchen but he is actually cooking... baking to be exact. Besides tasting the batter a few too many times, he made a delicious treat. And he is smiling!!!!

Weekend in a Fort!!

John and I decided to stay in Saturday night, and relax. After a home cooked meal, we went over to Tim Horten's to get some nice Hot Chocolate. Then John came up with the idea that we should make a fort, I just wanted to watch a movie but I agreed. It turned into a fun night, reminding me that I did this stuff when I was ten! The fort was great with blankets and everything, it was pitch black inside. We not only enjoyed the movie Blue Crush on Johns laptop, but also a nice night's sleep in the fort. It was lots of fun!!

Missionaries for Dinner!!!

Tonight we had the good ol' Amherst ward missionaries over for dinner!! ( don't worry I didn't feed them the above picture!) It was quite fun, I was brave and made a new recipe for us all to enjoy! I got it from a great friend of mine, and it was delicious. Cheese enchiladas, brown rice, corn, chips, salsa and homemade guacamole! Oh, that is not all, to top it off, a yummy bar with nothing else than sweetened condensed milk and lots of toppings! It was an enjoyable night!!

From Fun in the Snow to Emergency and Disaster!!!

Well, first you can just see for yourself.

From our back door, where we are supposed to park!



You probably can't tell what that is, but yes it is our maxima!



It's a first but not last. John shovelling the car out, and it was a success, it is ready to drive. But not far because the unsafe conditions!


After the snow plow, you can see the tall pile of snow off the road!


Outside our front door! Close the door, I yelled, we don't want the cold air in!!



The buried Civic, there will be no getting that out for a while!!! ( in the school parking lot!) The reason John had a fun sleepover at the school!



Trees down, all over. Roads were closed, houses and cars were destroyed. The trees brought power lines down.


The reason for no power!!!

Let me just summarize. While in Arizona it is 80, it is cold here to say the least. The few feet of snow are the least of our worries. The tress which were still full of leaves plus the heavy snow equaled broken branches, huge trees falling and powerlines down. The result was no power for over 300,000 people, closed roads, and blocked roads from fallen trees. I never realized how important power was. Living with no lights, no heat (when it is cold, and snowing hard outside), no refrigeration, no TV/movies, no outlet use, is rough. The water lines are predicted to be contaminated, so boiling water is necessary before drinking but with no power that makes it impossible. The prediction is another 8-9 days without power for the long range, so hopefully before. Stores are closed, groceries are scarce with no milk, water and bread. After the first night, being separated from my husband, he being stranded at school, with the civic buried in snow, and a driving ban out. It was scary, luckily he was not alone, and the school had power, or at least a generator, while I stayed with nearby friends Kristen and Aaron where we sat with blankets by candlelight. Last night however we were lucky enough to be invited to Kristen's Aunt and Uncle's home 45 minutes north( which had NO snow or power outages!) It was hard being safe, warm and with food, when so many people are still without power and cold. This is history, the most snow and damage in over 130 years. The city was declared in a state of emergency calling in for federal assistance. Despite all the chaos, John and I are doing fine, staying close with one another. This will make us think of all the things we need to do to better prepare ourselves for future problems. Today is the day when we need to be prepared, huh!! I will keep you updated, love you all!!!

What the .......... SNOW!!!!

Wow!! October the 12th 2006, the first snow fall since moving to Buffalo, welcome to the start of the next several months, Huh. Well, John and I were quite excited even though we don't know what we are in for. John and I went outside to celebrate and enjoy the white stuff that we don't see much of in AZ!!! I wonder if tonight or tomorrow the view may not be so green and fall colors but white!!

Fun with Cake Decorating

Yes, I have taking up something new and exciting. Last night was my first class in cake decorating. And here is my finished cake, happy pumpkin! I enjoyed the class, and am learning some old and new tricks to decorate not only cakes, but cookies, brownies, cupcakes too!! Each week I will bring home something new that I have created in class. There is 2 more classes, so I will show off my next projects too!!




Yesterday I was also able to spend the day making some delicious home-style Chicken noodle soup. I even made the noodles from scratch, it was pretty good, with fresh veggies, herbs, noodles, chicken. The perfect meal on a cool, rainy day. I also enjoyed a midday movie with my girlfriend Kristen, we went o Step Up, about dancing. I love dancing and love movies about dancing, so it was great! I want to go out and sign up for a dance class now!!

new home!!!

Don't worry we are not actually living here. But it is our first home! Not bad for $4000!!! It is already up for sale! Not bad for helping us establish NY residency!! Here we are is front of the beauty!!!

visit with my fam

My mother, sister Jessika and her son Caden came up from Arizona and Utah to visit John and I. We had so much fun. Here a few pics that highlight their stay!!






John and I at the Pumpkin Farm. We spent a whole day here, it was great fun, especially with Caden (2 yrs) with us.







Caden riding the pony, he loved it. With my mother behind him!



The boys went down the BIG slide. John and Caden being boys!





Cute Caden posing with pumpkins. There were so many there!! Big ones, little ones, round, tall ones too!!!




We also spent the day in Palmyra. Joseph smith home, sacred grove, hill cumorah. My sister Jessika ("baby Cash" as Caden says to come in November) and myself posing in the sacred grove. It was beautiful!




Here is the whole group. On Monday John's day off, we went to Niagara Falls, we rode on the Maid of the Mist, went to Canada to view the falls and drove to Niagara on the Lake for some food and fun shopping.

The trip went by so fast. We enjoyed the time we spent together!!

So the final votes are in..... and we are officially residents of the state of New York!!!
Yeah!! That may not sound too exciting to you but it is! Why? because that cuts down our tuition for dental school, so an extra $15,000 this year sounds very very good!! We are Rich!! John reminds me not so fast, we will be living off this, since I don't have a job or anything. I told him I will, and he states that he will believe it when he sees it!

Next item of business! We are house sitting/ dog sitting for our bishop. It is kinda fun, to be in this big house, just John and I. During the day I get bored because it is just me and Dutchess, alone in this big house. But its fun, I enjoy to house sit. I feel like a girl playing house!!

I am getting very excited to have my mother, my sister and her son come to visit on Friday. We are going to have so much fun!!

a week gone by....

Wow! the week has past already. So what is new with us...

John was voted in as an ASDA rep in his dental class. ( I am not too sure what that all entails.)

I made some homemade salsa for the first time ever. It was okay. But I think I will have to try more recipes to I find the perfect salsa. Any suggestions?!

Christmas planning meeting One- check. Yeah I know it is only September but I am going to get it done early this year, with the help of my ward all getting together and helping out.

Girls night at Olive Garden. Yum, Yum! But so expensive for soup, salad and breadsticks!

I thought I was Pregnant!!! Or maybe I was who knows. One+ Two positive pregnancy tests, then bleeding followed by a negative one. So we were shocked, scared, excited, and sad all together, what an emotional rollar coaster!

John's first test in Anatomy!!! He is awesome so I am sure he will do great!!

The weekend here already!! Party

Talk to you later!

FHE

John was up for FHE, so I was told to get dressed in warm clothes, jackets, blankets etc, and be ready to go at 8:30pm. We went through the drive through of TIm Hortens and got a caramel apple cider and hot chocolate. We then went to a park close to our house, and John shared a thought of how to influence people positively. The three steps are: be a good example, form a trusting relationship and then give and receive advice and instruction. The night was topped off with laying down blankets in the park, cozying up together with our hot drinks and watching the next episode of LOST! It was so fun!!
PS- I can't believe how cold it can be and its only september, winter has not even hit and I am wearing my warmest jackets.

The weekend was full of..... studying!!! Well, actually not as much as anticipated. With Johns First test on Monday I was sure the weekend would be uneventful, but Friday we had a nice relaxing date together just John and I. We made a late night run to Arby's, stopped at the store and got drinks and our favorite junk food including swedish fish. We came home cuddled up and watched none other than 2 episodes of LOST season 2, while we ate. It was an enjoyable night just to relax and be with my long lost husband. I was sure that nightmares would follow but I was safe, a good night's sleep followed. Saturday we slept in, and finally got the Maxima inspected, yes we have been here for almost 2 months and driving illegally??? SHHHHH! I left John to study and my friend Kristen and I went shopping, I tried to retain myself but I bought a home fragrance oil lamp thing that you put aromatherapy oils in and it smells up the whole house. I found some more stuff but nothing I bought. Saturday night we went out to Moe's Southwestern grill, we went with 4 other couples. It was a good try. It was a mix between Baja fresh, Chipotle and Cafe Rio but not as good. It was enjoyable and don't get me wrong was decent food, perhaps the best way out here in the east. Well, all is well here in Williamsville, the weather has been beautiful the past few days with sunshine, and pretty chilly nights, well, and days too, at least for me!
PS- Sorry for no pictures, I love pictures but I will figure out how to post them right side up, enough of turning your head to the side!!

Our fun Labor day Weekend!!!

Friday night started our fun long weekend. With a nice "East Coast" mexican food restaurant with a group of 10 in which the company was better than the food, as always. Then John and I split and instead of going to a movie at 10pm (in which in would be a nap for me) we went to Anderson's Custard which was so absolutely delicious I cannot wait to go back!



Saturday was a ward temple day. Although it was a flash flood warning outside, and raining like crazy, John and I went with friends Kristen and Aaron out to the Palmyra temple. It was a lovely session, and was enjoyed by all in the ward who attended. After, a group of us went to a little Itailian cafe where they serve freshly sliced sandwiches that are huge and full of meat!!! It was a night that was spent inside, the rain outside and a high of 50 all day was enough to keep us Arizonain's inside.




Sunday after church John and I went out to Briste's parents home, about 45miles away with a group of friends. Her parents own tons of land with a driving range and over 150 acres! It was a nice getaway. Delicious food was enjoyed and the boys went out to shoot and play on the driving range, while the girls sat inside and talked and enjoyed relaxing together. The blue milk truck was the vehicle the boys drove around the land!





Monday, we celerated our friend Erica's birthday with a fun 80's party. Music, karyoke, tons of yummy food and good company was found at the party.

What a fun busy weekend. Studying was attempted at any free moment we had, but it was a great weekend!!!

So what do I do all day. . . .

What else is there to do than to slave in the kitchen?
The baking queen is back and baking up a fresh batch of toffee and Reese's Cookies.
Yum Yum.

Oh, Look what John got!!

Now he really looks like a dental student with his new Dakine backpack.
His Mac Book Pro fits nicely in its own little pocket. Off to school....