Gingerbread Houses and Hailey's 3rd Birthday

I took vacation yesterday in part so I could make gingerbread houses with my family.  I know, anyone who's been following my blog for a while must be shocked :-)  The last few years I've done gingerbread houses with friends, so it was extra fun to be sitting next to my adorable niece Hailey as she made her house.

The whole gang was there, minus my brother who was out of town so he made his house earlier with his girlfriend Rachel.

My dad's cousin's daughter Gabrielle made a gingerbread house with us too in case you were wondering who was sitting on my lap :-)

We also decided to celebrate Hailey's third birthday since her birthday is on Thanksgiving this year.  I think she is just such a doll!  Happy birthday Hailey!

Proud to be a part of Bronco Nation

Thanks to Coach Pete and the Boise State football players!  This video chronicles 12-year-old Stephen Kinsey's trip to Boise.  He was granted a wish through Make-a-Wish and was Coach for a Day for the Broncos.

One-Track Mind

Mike and Me - loving the Broncos in their orange uniforms!

Yes, I know I blog a lot about Boise State football.  Football really is my favorite part of fall.  I figure a lot of my friends have pretty much "dedicated" their blogging to updates on their children, so I think I can bombard you all (whoever reads this!) with updates of my favorite college football team for a few months out of the year :-)

Well, last night was pretty much Bronco Dominance.  I was SUPER nervous that first quarter, where we had an interception, a fumble, and only 3 points!  Not to worry though, my boys came back... the defense was amazing and the offense picked it up too for a 51-0 win.  I'm REALLY hoping to jump TCU in the polls.  I know that Oregon, Auburn, and TCU all have byes this week, and I hope this shutout helps prove the Broncos case for a bowl bid.  Yes, I'm optimistic that we'll win our last two games.  I'll be cheering for Alabama and South Carolina to win out over Auburn.  I would love an Oregon-Boise State rematch in Glendale!

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Trans-Siberian Orchestra sure puts on a great concert!  I went a few years ago with my family, and of course wanted to go again when Jared said he wanted to get a group together to go.  We had great seats right up next to the stage.  The special effects were amazing, with lights and fire and suspended bridges etc.  The concert made me excited for the holidays.  Looking forward to Thanksgiving next week and then decorating for Christmas :-)

Boise State Rakes Up Boise!

I tried a few years ago to organize a Rake up Boise team between the staff in my office, Admissions, and Financial Aid... I remember being disappointed that only a few people volunteered (in all fairness, there was a football game that day!), but we all had fun raking and serving those in need.  This year, I decided to cast the net a little farther and invited all faculty and staff to participate on a Boise State team.  I got a little better response (about 40 people), and had enough participants for 4 teams.  We all raked on Saturday morning, and everyone had a great time.  My team raked for just under 2 hours and we had 32 bags of leaves!  I got a call this morning from the resident at the house we raked - she went on and on about how it was the best raking job she'd ever seen - way to go team!

After raking for Rake up Boise, I spent another three hours raking my own lawn (including blowing all the leaves from the landscaping beds).  My wisteria still has some leaves, so I know I'll be back out for more raking later this year, but I'm happy to have the bulk of it done!

Princess Parking

Princess Parking Defined: Paying $10 a day to park in the Administration Building parking lot right outside our offices so that we don't have to park across campus in the lot where our permit allows us to park (the one we pay $342 a year for)

Not like I would ever Princess Park... unless of course it's freezing outside or it's raining and I forgot my umbrella or I'm wearing a new pair of uncomfortable heels or if I need to carry a lot of stuff into my office :-)

Today my excuse was that I had to distribute 60 giant leaf bags to different team captains for Rake up Boise this weekend.  I think that's a pretty valid excuse!

Still Undefeated

Boise State 42, Hawaii 7

Carsten & Me at the game

What Have You Been Up To?

We all get asked this question a lot and probably ask it a lot ourselves.  A month or so ago, a friend asked what I've been up to lately, and I replied with my default answer of "Nothing much, how about you?"  He responded with something along the lines that I should get out more.

Why would I have responded "nothing much"?  I feel like I'm always busy and have something going on pretty much every night.  Is it because I was too lazy to come up with an answer?  Or maybe because I wonder if when people ask this question if they really care what I've been up to lately or if that's just they way they are greeting me?  Well, it bothered me that I answered that way, and that my friend was probably picturing me sitting at home every night watching tv (not that I don't do this sometimes!).  The next time I saw him, I walked right up to him and explained that I didn't really mean "nothing much", that I really am a busy person and I told him some of the things I had been doing lately (i.e. watching BSU football, glass blowing, book clubs, etc).  We had a conversation about why people answer "nothing much" and he thanked me for telling him what I've been up to because he really did care to hear about it.

So my goal is to at least have an answer when someone asks me this question.  I don't have to go on and on about everything I'm doing, but maybe pick one or two things I've been doing.  Another friend asked me yesterday what I've been up to - I started to respond with my default answer, but caught myself and told him a couple things I've been doing.  I proceeded to ask what he's been doing, and we had a good conversation.

Prosciutto, Pear, and Blue Cheese Sandwich

I usually post good recipes on my recipe blog, but this one is just too good not to post here too...  The Prosciutto, Pear, and Blue Cheese sandwich recipe as found in the October issue of Cooking Light is FABULOUS.  I have probably made this sandwich five times in the last couple weeks.  It is fast and easy and so delicious (and only 324 calories).  I LOVE all the flavors together.  So here you go - a new recipe to add to your collection.  Give it a try!

Ingredients
8 slices 100% multigrain bread
1 T butter, softened
3 cups arugula
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
1 T olive oil
2 t red wine vinegar
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
1 ripe pear, cored and thinly sliced
2 ounces blue cheese, sliced

Directions
1.  Toast and butter bread.
2.  Combine arugula and shallot in medium bowl.  Add oil and vinegar and toss to coat.  Divide evenly among 4 bread slices, buttered side up.
3.  Top evenly with prosciutto.  Divide pear slices and cheese evenly among sandwiches.  Top each sandwich with 1 bread slice, buttered side down.

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had a fun Halloween... I did!  First, a couple pictures of my Halloween decor - I plan to switch this out to Fall decor tomorrow.

We had a low-key Halloween get-together at Jared's house Sunday night... with Costa Vida style salads and burritos.  We finished off the evening with a game and then delicious apples with all the toppings (caramel, milk chocolate, white chocolate, cinnamon sugar, heath bar, butterfinger, oreo, coconut, almonds, etc.)

Tim's "finger cookies"

Thanks Josh for bringing all the great toppings!

David, Tim, Jared, Jen, me, Brittany, Lance, Carsten, Emily, Russ, Jessica, Josh