Untitled.

I wanted to show a picture of Sally to a friend of mine at work. I was going through the blog, looking at all the fun pictures and memories. Then I felt sad that I hadn't blogged for so long and all of the things that I am sure I have already forgotten because I decided not to blog about them. I decided (and maybe it wont last, like many other things that I've tried) to post more often. I always thought it was strange when people would say that their blogs were like journals, but now I understand.

There is a lot going on these days. We are busy with work and school. It seems like we haven't had any time to relax, and I think it is starting to get to us. I don't really have any new pictures to share, but here are some that I found looking through my old pictures:

This is a picture of my grandpa's family.

Grandpa is in the bottom left. He had a stroke when I was a baby (2 or 3, I think), and died

when I was 17. I never knew him, and I regret that to this day. I think about my grandpa

everyday and frequently think that he would have been my best friend in the world if we could

have known one another.

Here are some good ones:

Ben and Sally.

They loved each other. One time Ben took off running while I had about ten bags of groceries

on my arms. I tried to catch him, but he just kept running. Sally trotted along his side as happy

as could be. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

This is from a time that I took Ben to the zoo with me. He looks like a baby in this picture...he is so big now! I miss spending so much time with my nephews.

I can't sign off without posting a picture of adorable dogs, so here you go!

Rambling (Wo)man

I don't have any pictures to post, however, there is a whole lot to update.

John is finishing up his first year of law school at the U; in fact he is working on the outline for his first final (this Wednesday) as we speak. It has truly been an adventure for both of us and we have learned a whole lot about ourselves as a couple. It never ceases to amaze me how much work he puts into what he does, or how hard he is on himself. I am SO glad that the first year is over and I am sure he is too. Only two more to go!

I am also finishing up with this semester. I have spent the last year of school in the paralegal program at Salt Lake Community College and have recently decided to go back to my original plan of getting my bachelors in history teaching at the U. I feel like I have wasted a whole year of my education, not to mention the money that we spent on tuition. Even though it is pretty discouraging to think about that year, the thought of getting my degree makes it worth it. I am looking forward to taking the summer off to re-boot.

Not only are we finishing up with school, we are getting ready to move...again. For those of you who are counting (not that anyone but me is counting) this will be our eighth move in the three years that we have been married. Overwhelming? Yes, but we are both looking forward to moving from apartment living to a house to ourselves and a backyard for Sally. We are both crossing our fingers that this will be the last move until John is done with school.

I am looking forward to the next few months. John has a summer job and I will be teaching swimming lessons in the hot summer sun(Christine and Steph: no more jokes about how pale my skin is). I am also training for a half marathon in July, which is exciting.

So that about sums up what is going on in our lives right now.

Until next time,

Danielle

Dognip

It's like catnip, only for dogs. It isn't a plant at all, but a pair of socks. Weird? Yes. Funny? Hilarious. I understand that not everyone out there is a dog lover or even a pet lover for that matter, but my Sally Wag is like my baby, and it is for that reason that I give you this:

Those are my socks. I had them lying on a towel to dry on the office/spare room floor and she found her way to them. Honestly, I am not quite sure what is going on...this is not normal behavior.

Creme Brulee

CREME BRULEE

This recipe is one of my favorite desserts and makes for one serious guilty pleasure. Not only is it delicious, it is easy!

You will need:

4 Egg Yolks
4 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Pint Heavy Cream
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Dash of Salt
4-6 Ramekins or Custard cups
Roasting Pan ( I use a 9x9 or 9x13 pyrex)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix sugar and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl.

Put the sugar cream mixture in the microwave for 2 minutes to help dissolve the sugar.

Beat the egg yolks until they are smooth.

When the sugar cream mixture is done add the egg yolks, salt and vanilla and whisk everything together.

Pour the mixture evenly into your ramekins(I got mine from Ross for $9.00 and love them)
Set your ramekins into your oven safe dish and pour enough hot water into the bottom of the pan to come up halfway on the ramekins.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

Cool on counter top until they are cool enough to handle and then put them in the fridge.
Let them sit in the refrigerator overnight. (if you were to make them in the morning you could have them ready for dessert that night) It is important that they spend a good amount of time in the fridge. They really do not taste the same unless you let them set up in the fridge for quite a while.

Sprinkle the creme brulee with brown sugar and get out the little kitchen torch. Melt the sugar on the top to create a hard shell. (I dont have a torch and skipped this step)

Devour.

*someday I will have a kitchen torch...someday*

I am going on an adventure...

John and I have been watching a t.v. show called "The 'F' Word." It is a cooking show starring Chef Gordon Ramsay. "The 'F' stands for food" he says at the beginning of every episode. It is kind of an odd show and I don't really know how to describe it, but it has awakened something in me and inspired us to try some different foods. So with a little bit of Christmas money I went to Ross and got some totally sweet and totally inexpensive cook books and some cooking implements that I have needed for quite some time - I still don't have a rolling pin! One of the cook books I bought is Martha Stewart's Cooking School, it retails for $45.00 and I bought it for $10.00. Thank you, Ross. It is probably one of the most handy things a person who wants to cook can have. Martha literally teaches you just about everything you need to know including, but not limited to de-boning a leg of lamb, filleting different fish, dividing a whole chicken, and how to make stocks of every kind (thank you, Martha). The other book cost me about $7.00 but is not really worth mentioning.

With some rules in line (like sticking to the monthly food budget), my adventure started about a week and a half ago. In our quest we are trying to eat better (in my opinion, just about anything homemade is better than eating out) eat fewer snack-y things, and we are also trying to eat fresh. The eating fresh part has been a challenge, but has also been fun (for example: instead of buying breads, I make them)

So far we have had the following things for dinner:

Seared Ahi Tuna Salad - have you ever heard of Sunflower Farmers Market? They have the most delicious cuts of meat and fish and you cant beat the price on the fish.

Chicken and Eggplant Parmesan - The eggplant didn't turn out so great, it was pretty mushy.

Greek Chicken with grilled zucchini served over Bulgur with Homemade pita bread - our most favorite yet...and probably the most healthy. I will have to make it again so I can take pictures and share the recipe. Side note: If you have not tried bulgur, TRY IT. It can be used as a substitute for rice and it is so yummy.

Tri Tip roast with garlic tossed asparagus and roasted baby potatoes - We all know how amazing tri tip is.

I will share some of the delicious recipes that I have as I make them so you can come along on my food adventure with me!

The Chocolate Factory

Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted. I wanted to share a funny story and tell you a little bit about one of my favorite things: Italian sodas. Prepare yourself...it is kind of a long story.

In fall/winter of 2007 I was a nanny for a family that lived in the Avenues in Salt Lake City. Their last name was Peiffer. They had 3 boys Peter (Peter Peiffer, sad) and Liam, who were twins (7) and Eric (4). They also had two dogs: Buddy and Grommet. Grommet used to eat worms out of the ground and then roll in the worm guts and get them stuck in his fur but this information is useless and has nothing to do with the story. Every day from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm I would take care of the boys; get them to school, set up play dates, make them dinner, and take them out for treats. The best part was taking them out for treats. Especially when I happened upon Hatch Family Chocolates with the help of my sister Stephanie. Hatch Family Chocolates is owned and operated by two little people, John and Katie. I had never had an Italian soda before, and was curious when I saw it written up on the blackboard behind the delightful little chocolate counter. I tried one. It was cranberry flavored. I fell in love.

Needless to say, they started to have a soda made for me when they saw my car pull up. It was amazing.

For those poor unfortunate souls who have never had an Italian soda, it consists of the following:
Syrup (cranberry is my favorite)
Club Soda
Ice
Half and Half
(I have theories that they also contain love)
But you cant just put it together like that...there are rules for making an Italian sodas. RULES!

You have to fill the glass with ice first. Then you pour the syrup in the bottom of the glass. Then you fill the glass with club soda. DO NOT STIR or you are basically breaking all the rules of the Italian soda. You then pour enough half and half in the glass to make you happy. Now you can stir it...but only a little! - I dont really stir mine, I just kind of mash the ice with my straw and that seems to churn it up just right. You have to drink your Italian soda through a straw, all the while commenting on how amazingly delicious it is. That is the only way to have an Italian soda...like I said....there are rules.

I have yet to taste an Italian soda that measures up to the ones they make me at the chocolate factory (that is what we lovingly call it) and I have always taken all of my boyfriends there to share a delicious soda with me. One boyfriend that I had took me there quite often. Later, long after we had broken up and John and I got married we were opening wedding gifts and found a huge box full of like 18 Italian soda glasses. It was awkward.

Back to the story. I still try to visit the chocolate factory every once in a while but hadn't been in over 4 or 5 months. I had been craving it for the last few weeks. It was on my mind almost every day. Then this happened: I came home from work one day and John was watching t.v. "Did you know that they are doing a show about little people that run a chocolate shop?" he asked me. "Is it our chocolate factory?" I asked. "No" was his response. Later we were watching t.v. when a commercial came on for 'Little Chocolatiers' on TLC and sure enough, it was John and Katie making their chocolates.

I was panicked. I had been planning on making a trip to the chocolate factory after my last final was completed, you know, to reward myself for all of my hard work...but knowing they were on t.v. made me feel like I couldn't go back. And I needed to go back. So, last week after my last final, I drove over to the chocolate factory and went inside only to find a giant camera crew hovering around (I guess I assumed that they would be done filming since their series had already started). It was horrible. ALL I WANTED WAS MY SODA! Inside, the owner John greeted me. "We haven't seen you in a while." It was true, it had been too long. I ordered my Italian soda and hurried out. It was so worth it. It was divine.

I dont think that I can live without my Italian soda, and I really hope that they dont get too popular for me to keep going back. I need them. I need my chocolate factory.

The end

Netflix anyone?

John and I canceled our Netflix when John started school. In the mail yesterday we got a letter from Netflix that gave us four cards to give to friends that would give a full free month of Netflix rather than the usual two week free trial. SO, if you happen to come across this and you would like to try netflix for free for a month, let me know and I will email you the codes.

Welcome baby Tess!

August 1st 2009
Baby Tess Marie Gormley



5 lbs. 14 oz.

This morning at 1:30 a.m. my older sister gave birth to her first baby. Mom and Dad are now officially Grandma and Grandpa (both are completely smitten-as we all are). We are all already in love with this little girl who joined us 11 days before her due date.



This little munchkin has a full head of dark hair, feet the size of a five month old-hands too. Maybe someday she will grow into them.

Welcome baby Tess!

Third Time's the Charm

After a second move in one month John and I are finally settling into a new-new apartment. The one with the backyard and all the fancy stuff turned out not so great and we were only there for two days. Maybe someday I will tell you the story if you haven't heard it yet.

We finally moved into a new place on the 4th of June. We were staying with my parents in-between moves, it was wonderful to have a place to stay and homemade dinner every night. We ended up having to move all of our belongings a total of 3 times in one month. We were lucky enough to have a moving van one of the three times (courtesy of John's dad, Dave) and lots of help from my siblings.

Most of our stuff is still in boxes and the only thing that we have all set up is the living room, but it already feels like home. Sally even has a new little friend, a black mini schnauzer puppy named Star. We are sleep deprived, stressed and tired of moving all around but happy nonetheless.

We are thrilled with our new place and I will definitely post pictures when everything is all organized.

Seriously?

There are only two of us.

You probably wouldn't guess that if you saw our half a dozen sets of dishes though.

However, you can never have to many pyrex dishes...and this is only one third of them.


Moving is so much fun.

Moving Day.

John and I are in the process of moving. We are currently sleeping on our mattress in the living room(which is highly reminiscent of when we were living at my parents house) and living on just the basics. I just read my post from when we moved into the apartment that we are currently in, it was nice to move here and all, but we are even more excited to move this time around.

The place we are moving to is a basement apartment in the neighborhood I grew up in. I am so excited to be in the same ward I was from ages 1-18. We are also pretty close to the Sugarhouse area where John spent the majority of his teenage years. The apartment is about twice as big as where we are now and we get to have our own backyard! I have already started my tomatoes, strawberries and zucchini plants to be ready to transfer them when we move!

We have been able to do a bunch of work on our soon-to-be home. The landlord let us paint the rooms whatever colors we wanted and pick out light fixtures and stuff like that, so it starts to feel more like ours with every project that gets done. Our current project consists of a whole bucket of joint compound, a cement like substance, primer and paint. We still have a bunch to do - does any one like painting cabinet doors? - but the work is worth it. If we love it enough we are hoping that we can stay at this new place throughout John's adventure through law school.

I don't have any pictures because, quite frankly, it is a disaster right now. After some heavy duty cleaning and decorating, maybe I will feel more compelled to share.

~Daniel update: John and I got to visit with Daniel yesterday. It was great fun, he is back to his old self and we got to share stories of our criminal adventures(Daniel and I were good friends in high school) with Christine and John. He is doing really well and recovering amazingly.

Daniel's Blog

Daniel's uncle has set up a blog so that we can all receive information on his condition. I haven't been able to be to the hospital and Christine hasn't been there since yesterday afternoon (she is in Provo attending her classes until 5 this evening), so the information that I actually receive is somewhat limited. If you read from the beginning you will be able to catch up on all of the details.



Christine and Daniel on the mountain after getting engaged


As you get ready for the day today, please pray that Daniel will be strong enough and in a more stable condition so that he may receive the surgery that he needs. Also pray that he will remain strong during the surgery if he does go in this morning at 10:30 (the surgery is scheduled for a *fingers crossed* final, and long term fix for his elbow).



Rock Climbing - Daniel's favorite


Christine will be back this evening to spend the weekend with her fiance. Keep her in your prayers as well, I am sure you can understand why this is such a stressful and terrifying time for her. She has been doing all she can to stay on top of her school obligations driving back and forth from BYU sometimes more than once a day. I was discussing with someone yesterday how I personally would not have the strength to keep on top of other things if I were in a similar situation. Although it is unfortunate that she should have to deal with this, it has been amazing to actually see the love that she has for Daniel, and the determination that she has to be her best, and do the best for her future family. Christine and I have not always been the best of friends, but this has been a reminder of the importance of family, and I want Chris to know that I love her so much.


Sisters - I think we must be somewhere around 5-6 years old


If the link doesn't work, the blog address is: http://www.danielconner.blogspot.com/


Muddy butts after mountain biking at the cabin (aren't they are perfect for eachother!)

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support.

-Danielle

Little update.

Daniel was taken off of his ventilator a little earlier and is now strong enough to breathe on his own. I know Christine and his family are looking forward to finally being able to communicate with him.

Daniel and his family need our prayers.

My sister's fiance Daniel was in a motorcycle accident yesterday morning on his way to work. A car was turning into a gas station and he was unable to break in time. He is currently in the Surgical ICU at the University of Utah Hospital where he is being treated for (I will try my best to explain) a very broken elbow, damaged knee(no breaks), two broken ribs, a fractured pelvis, two dropped lungs (one of which has a tube in it to help him breathe and relieve pressure). He is also suffering from a very badly damaged kidney, lacerated liver and his spleen is also damaged. Thankfully there is no sign of brain injury.

Yesterday throughout the day Daniel had very serious internal bleeding. He had two blood transfusions, and was stable enough to be moved from the emergency room to the Surgical ICU around 10 a.m.. His blood pressure was very low, so the surgeons were unable to provide him with very much relief from his pain. Because his blood pressure was so low they were not able to operate on him. Around 7:30 p.m. the doctors felt like he was stable enough to take him into surgery, where they cleaned out his open wounds to greatly decrease his chances of infection. They were also able to temporarily set his elbow with wire (there were several breaks in his elbow). with this temporary fix, they will be able to wait until his body is strong enough to handle a more invasive repair. He came out of surgery (around 9:30 p.m.) cleaned up, but not any better than when he went into surgery. His blood pressure climbed back to a normal-ish level around 10:30 p.m. and they were finally able to give Daniel the pain relief that he needed.

Christine, and Daniel's parents are doing fairly well considering the situation. I know that they didn't spend the night at the hospital, but they were all there around 11 p.m. when I left, so they were there late. There has been a great deal of support from both families and friends.

Christine is going back down to Provo(BYU) this afternoon to go to her classes and take a test and will be back this evening to spend her time at the hospital.

Keep Daniel and his family in your prayers. We are praying that he will not lose any mobility as his limbs heal. We are also praying that his internal organs can repair themselves and if not, that he is able to handle any future surgeries that he may have to face. We are very grateful that he did not suffer any brain damage or any damage to his head or neck.


We love you Daniel, even though you are not technically part of our family yet! We all know how strong you are, and we hope we can have you back soon.


I will update as I receive updates.

Doggies are Swell

Oh, pup.
I lurve you.

Don't Be Jealous...

But my husband has been accepted into the S.J. Quinney School of Law at the University of Utah.

Booya!

And even though I am totally not looking forward to dealing with school-mode-John, I am very excited.

Congratulations baby, I am so proud of you!

Mission Control Puppy Asleep at the Switch

I have not had a decent post in a long time. We are still alive! I thought I would post a few things that have been going on lately.

I have been spending very much of my time with this little guy.

It is nice to be around family. Plus he is incredibly adorable(a stinker when waking up from naps), and terribly fun to be around. As much fun as we have been having, it is nice to get to leave him with his mom and dad when the day is done-we are not ready for this yet!

Things have been going well all around. Anyone who knows John and I knows that we can very easily drive each other into a deep madness....I had a wonderful realization last week at my brother-in-law Doug's birthday party, I was talking to Doug's mom and she asked me how I was liking married life. For the first time in a year and a half I said "I love it!" I was so relieved! I didn't know if I would ever say it! Up until that moment, when people asked that question I always said "Its good, but its hard" -Don't get me wrong guys, I love my hubby. Madly. But being married is hard. I think that we are finally starting to understand one another better and it makes all the difference. It is much nicer now coming home to someone that I don't start a fight with every 23 seconds.

The other thing that I love coming home to is...Sally Wag! She spends all day long running around with her pals at doggy day care and when she gets home all she wants to do is curl up on the couch. She wont let anything stand(or sit) in her way.

She is sitting right on top of me! Someday Sally, we will have a bigger couch. Yes, I let my dog sit with me on the couch, but dont worry, the bed is still off limits. Our 1 year anniversary with Ms. Sally Wag is coming up in just a few months. It is crazy to think that we have had her for a whole year.

Speaking of anniversaries,

This is the tiny-sized cake that I made John for valentines day(which also happens to be our half anniversary). As you can probably see, I was experimenting with food coloring. You may think that I am weird all you want, but I love making crazy, silly cakes. And it tasted amazing!

Cake making is my latest favorite thing to do. I desperately want to learn how to make a wedding cake and have already perfected my fondant recipe. I am trying to build up my supply of cake making tools. I still don't really have pans, but my trusty pyrex have been doing the job just fine. Someday.

My other favorite thing:


No, not Good Housekeeping. Jon and Kate Plus 8! It is my all time favorite show and I follow it religiously. John now knows that every Monday at 8 I need my time to watch the new episode. He hates it, and if I don't kick him out of the room he will sit and complain about how annoying Kate is (what do you want? she has 6 4 year olds!) and how dumb it is that I love it so much. At least he really doesn't mind that I watch it.

On a completely different note (this whole post has been a little unfocused) this thing is my new enemy:


I read about the clarisonic on some blog a while ago where the author raved about how great it was. About a week ago my sister gave me this one to use and so far it has brought me nothing but trouble. I haven't ever really had bad skin, so I thought that it would just keep my skin nice and clean. This is not so! I have been breaking out since using it! I keep hearing that you have to use it for two weeks before you see results. I think my skin must be uber-sensitive or something because things just arent working out like I had hoped. I will keep using it for another week just because I am holding out for positive results and hopefully my face will stay in one piece until that time.


It was hard for me to stay on one subject for very long during this post, but I am glad that I finally got around to blogging something again. Hope everyone had a Happy Valentines Day like I did!

It looks as though it has been about a month since I last posted. Everything is going well. John was recently promoted at work and is now working full time hours and I am taking care of our nephew Ben. John is sending out law school applications and I am taking a few classes this semester, considering law school myself(I don't know how we would make this work, but its just a thought). Hope everyone has had a wonderful 2009 so far!

Howdy All!

I realize that I have posted several very depressing and miserable posts, and I am sorry for that, but what do you expect? I thought I would update for those of you who John and I don't really have much contact with. I am in my 8th day of recovery and here is what's going on:

I am still very depressing and miserable - ask anyone we have visited with the past week.

Day one and two were okay.
Day three was the worst.
Day four was the worst.
Day five was the worst.
Day six was the worst.
Day seven was the worst.
Merry Christmas Eve, day eight is the worst!

I have stopped taking the prescribed pain meds. they all make me incredibly sick. Tylenol PM, I heart you all hours of the day. Since I stopped taking them, I have been doing much better. It is far better to be in pain. I hope that none of you ever have to experience throwing up when your tonsils have just been removed.
This morning at 2:00 am I woke up and couldn't sleep, I decided to watch a little HGTV(which has become my favorite since the surgery). I fell back asleep and woke up a little before 4:00, my throat was bleeding which is a bad sign. I waited for it to stop for 30 minutes but it didn't so I called my doctor and he told me to get to the ER. There, they would put me back under and cauterize the site, it would be like starting over from the beginning. Luckily when we got there at 4:30 am the very nice doctor told me that the bleeding had stopped! Yay! At the moment I would have rather died then do this whole thing a second time. The very nice doctor made fun of my little ice pack that I always keep on my neck(which is gross, so I dont blame him), but it made me laugh and I was very happy that there was someone pleasant to be around at that hour in my situation.

I am back to eating stuff that I dont consider real food for a few days(doctors orders) to help prevent bleeding (if I can manage to force myself to eat). Ice cream really isn't doing it for me, I am finding myself getting pickier by the day.

It could be much, much worse and I am so incredibly thankful that it isnt.

I am so excited for Christmas! John hates it, but I still can't sleep on Christmas Eve, I get excited like a little kid. I dont even know why, we dont have presents for each other (except for little things that we spent like 20 bucks on) and I never got around to finishing the adorable felt stockings that I made. But you can bet that I will wake up at 6:30 and want John to do the same and I will take pictures of our tree and the little presents being opened and I will be as happy and excited as I was when I was ten. I just love Christmas Day. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! We love you all.

A little update on the surgery

Everything went pretty well. I don't really remember much from afterward except that I kept asking for John. Wednesday I was doing great, I was drinking plenty of fluids and I was able to manage the pain without too much trouble. Yesterday was a tiny bit worse, but I figured that the day after the surgery would be the hardest. I wish I would have been right. Today (3rd day after) I have had a pretty serious earache, and been terribly hungry, but its just so hard to eat. Not a good combination when you are taking pain meds, you can probably guess what happened with that. After spending some time on the bathroom floor I decided to force myself to eat. John went out and got me some fishy crackers and I was able to eat a bunch and take some more pain killers without getting sick again. I love my hubby! He has been taking care of me so well, making sure I stay in bed and that I keep eating and drinking. .
I have already lost about five pounds, which is disgusting. My body is withering away, but hopefully I can gain back the weight when I feel better. I try my best to eat as much as I can but I swear it gets harder by the day. I have even had problems talking today, but nothing too bad.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support! We love you all.