Ninja Assassins

I have never really worried or been particularly scared of spiders... but after moving into a spider-infested basement apartment, I have developed a new-found spider phobia! We have tried multiple things to get rid of them, but to no avail! They always seem to approach me when Aaron isn't home, it's like they are on a special mission or something... I have single-handedly killed hundreds of these evil creatures, so I just know that I am on their secret "kill list." I have even killed a couple that I know were specifically assigned to take me out. The first one was a black widow directly above the front door. I bet you can imagine my horror upon glancing up and matching her menacing gaze. I know she was just waiting for the perfect moment to jump on and kill me! The second, and most recent is when a large black spider (I refer to him as ninja assassin) came spinning down from the ceiling just inches in front of my face! Needless to say there was wailing and failing of arms... He didn't last long. But if he would have had better navigation, he could have easily landed on top of my head... and BOOM I would be dead.

What gets me is I haven't seen any for a couple days... I just know that they are planning their next assassination mission... I mean, I have killed several of their kind so can I truly blame them? I am mentally preparing for the next attack. If you don't hear back from me in several days... then I hope you can make it to my funeral. ;)



peace.

Oh and ps, I am being only slightly serious. (:

Birthday Weekend

Just in case ya'll didn't notice, Aaron and I basically share the same Birthday--mine is the day before his. It's kinda cool 'cause we are almost exactly 2 years apart! Well, needless to say, this special phenomenon causes for much celebration in the Best household. (: We started off the weekend with... BIRTHDAY CAKE! Not just any birthday cake: Homemade OREO CREAM CAKE.

Aaron insisted on eating it right after work (he gets home after 11 pm) he just couldn't wait for the next day! Can you blame him?

Silly, cute boy of mine (:

Blowing out the candle! 

(It sang "Happy Birthday" very annoyingly... perfect). 

Mmmm! It was very tasty and rich! 

NOT going to lie, we were both pretty impressed with my baking skills ;) 

Here's a link to the delicious recipe if you're interested. 

Did you notice that there are no pictures of the birthday girl? 

This is because I was planning on doing the cake thing the next day... 

and was already ready for bed... (I mean c'mon it was 11!)

 I looked like a creature that only a devoted husband could love (:

hahahahaha. I make myself laugh.

THE NEXT DAY:

We decided to go eat at this cute little sandwich shop called Sensuous Sandwiches haha! Let me tell you: it was most definitely SENSUOUS. We plan on going back soon, it was delish and reasonably priced. (Aaron says it's even better than Jimmy Johns... I am undecided) Plus they have an eating challenge: eat a delicious TWO FOOT sandwich in like 30 mins... Please... Have you seen my husband eat? Some challenge ;) 

Afterwards we went to Wally World (Wal-Mart) to buy the supplies for our super fun activity/date! I got the idea from this website. It's called a watermark tee. Basically you draw a design with glue onto your white shirt, after it dries you dye it (you can buy fabric dyes at Wal-Mart) and the glue acts as a resistant. In other words, wherever you put the glue will remain white... Or at least that's the idea. ;)

His says: GOT SHOTPUT? on the front and then UVU TRACK on the back. Mine is pretty lame... just some diagonal stripes with a little doodle on the bottom corner (cropped out of the picture...FAIL.) I wasn't feeling the creative juices flowing, I guess. Next time (: 

I don't have pictures of the finished project just yet... we dyed them a light gray, and it worked pretty well! Really want to try it again. 

INTERMISSION: 

I made him take a ton of pictures with me... Isn't he so nice? (:

Just some silly pictures. If you can't read the quote it says: 

"Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly. -Rose Franken." 

This is PERFECT for us. We are just plain silly. 

Our poor children will be so embarrassed and humiliated by us... especially when they are teenagers. (:

TO FINISH OFF THE WEEKEND:

To finish off our celebration we opened presents, went out to dinner at none other than PF Chang's, and then wandered aimlessly in the nearby mall. 

It was marvelous. (: 

Oh, cute note: there was a darling wishing well in the mall, we made wishes and shared our dreams/goals with each other. May not sound like much, but it was a tender moment. I love him. So much. 

So... um... HAPPY BIRTHDAY from us to you...? (: 

the end.

Peace and love. 

The Curly Girl Method

This book is changing my life! I have always struggled with liking and accepting my naturally curly hair. Despite the efforts of my mother and others, I always managed to find something wrong with it. I always felt prettier and more confident with straight hair. This book/method teaches you how to embrace, love and take care of your curls It also helps to banish the myth that straight hair is more beautiful, more professional, ect. I've been doing it for less than 3 weeks and I am already loving it, and noticing a difference!

I took this today (just under 3 weeks into the curly girl method)

So basically the major change is that I no longer use shampoo to clean my hair; I know, I know, that sounds really gross, huh? The reason is that curly hair tends to be a lot dryer than other types, and shampoo contains sulfate which strips your hair of its natural oil and dries it out. You can still use shampoo if you want, but it HAS to be sulfate-free (read the labels on everything!). Instead of shampoo (and following what the book suggests) I massage my scalp with conditioner, the key to a clean scalp is the way you massage it. That, by itself is enough to clean the dirt and oil out while moisturizing and nourishing the hair. 

There are other steps of course, but the no shampoo is the biggest and first step. If you wanna get started on this major lifestyle change, I suggest checking out this book at your library or buying it off Amazon.com for $8. This website is also awesome with helping you get started: naturallycurly.com. (This page also helps you find salons in your area that specialize cutting curly hair. Can't wait to go!)

I found out about this crazy, awesome "method" from watching a girl named Sarah on youtube. She is so helpful and really detailed, she has a ton of videos on how to take care of your curls using the curly girl method. Watch her! You'll learn lots! 

So... Yeah (: I guess I'll just keep posting pictures of my hair transformation. Loving it so far!

Peace and love.

First Week of School and Garlic Chicken Recipe... Mmm

Well, we survived our first week of school! Score. All I can say is I am tired of generals. I wanna move on with my life and take classes that I actually want to take, not some classes that "they" think I should take. Alas, here I am... I can do this (; Aaron likes school, he's into a little more personalized classes though... Lucky! He has a lot on his plate right now with work, school and track... I'm afraid I won't see him very much. Welcome to newly wed college years, right? We're lovin life though and try to focus more on the little moments that we do have with each other. He is so sweet (: I love him.

Okay enough of the mushy filler stuff (; what really got me on the computer was this awesome recipe I found on http://kathiecooks.blogspot.com... GARLIC CHICKEN! YUM!!

Sorry about the picture... This is what was left over in the pan... Haha I didn't think about it until after. Still looks yummy though, huh?

This is the recipe I used (with my alterations in yellow)

Prep Veggies:

Slice 1 zucchini, 1 pkg. fresh mushrooms, and 1 - 2 carrots into long strips. (You can use any of your favorite veggies). I used the carrots, green bell peppers and an onion

Prep Chicken:

Slice 1 - 2 chicken breasts into thin long strips.

Put in small bowl and add:

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. sugar

1 egg white

1 1/2 T. cornstarch

1 T. oil

Mix all together.

Prep Thickening Agent:

In small bowl put 2 T. cornstarch and a little bit of water. Stir.

Heat pan on high and add enough oil to generously cover the bottom of the pan. Cook a little bit of the chicken at a time in the hot oil. Remove and put on plate once cooked.

Deep fry veggies next using the same oil. Add carrots first because they take longer to cook than zucchini and mushrooms. Remove veggies from oil and put on another plate.

Add 1 1/2 T. minced garlic to pan (if there's a lot of oil left remove some just leaving a couple of Tablespoons). Saute garlic then add 1/2 inch water to the pan (while on high heat). Be really careful when adding the water! The combination with the oil made it splash up. Oops/Ouch

Add:

5 T. soy sauce

2 T. sugar

2 T. chinkiang vinegar I didn't have this so I just used apple cider vinegar

1/2 t. chili sauce (optional) didn't use

1/2 - 1 t. sesame oil didn't use either... I didn't have it, probably would have been better with it though! Who knows?

Add thickening agent a little at a time, stirring constantly while on high heat to thicken the sauce. 

Add chicken to sauce and stir. Then add cooked veggies. Stir and serve with rice.

Yummy yummy in my tummy! We both really liked this dish! Let me know if you tried it and what you did differently!

Peace and love.

Celtic Festival and Highland Games

Hey look! It's me! Blogging! Wow, it’s a miracle (; I couldn't help myself. Aaron and I went to this fun Celtic Festival in Wellsville with his family this weekend. It was awesome to show some of my Scottish pride and see what it meant to be Scottish. They had all sorts of fun booths, selling things from Celtic food to jewelry, swords and knifes, to kilts and apparel! They also had entertainment like dances and my favorite—bagpipe music!

Aaron’s favorite part was watching the Highland Games… naturally (: we watched huge men throw incredibly heavy stuff… so it was right up Aaron’s alley; he’s really excited to compete next year! I’m not so sure though… it all seemed a little too dangerous. I’d just worry, but he’d love it!

Everything was great EXCEPT for that blasted sun! It was deathly hot and no shade trees to be seen so we all sweat it out and got lovely sunburns.

Here are a few pictures of our adventures there:

This is the whole crew! Everyone except for Kaylee ):

Cute little candy shop!

Celtic knifes

Aaron and I got leather Celtic love knot bracelets (: awe, he's so cute. Apparently the guy got them from Ireland, so that's pretty cool (:

Alice got all the girls these cute and fun hair wrap thingys. I am in love with them! It's perfect for keep my little curly bangs out of my face.

They had what they called "clan booths" where each family had a little booth filled with their family plaid and crest and information about what they did for Scotland or Ireland. I looked everywhere for the Campbell Clan Booth and this is all I found ): apparently the guy who was supposed to run the booth was sick. 

The guy in the booth right next to this though gave me some really cool information. He had the coolest Scottish accent! He said that Scotland would not be here if not for the Campbell's! Then he went on forever about his reason's why... yeah, needless to say, I was pretty proud to be a former Campbell (;

Well, I was pretty dumb to not take any pictures of the Highland Games, but I asked Aaron to find me some cool videos of the throws that they do and this is what he came up with. These guys are pretty impressive!

This one is called the Caber Toss! Incredible. 

This throw scares me the most! They throw 56 pounds up over their heads with one hand! AHHH! This guy makes it look easy though. 

Throwing 72 pound stones... no biggie.

And finally they throw something similar to the weight throw in modern day Track and Field but instead of weighing 35lb these weigh in at 56lb!

I have to admit, that this festival was a lot of fun! Next summer I'll be posting videos of Aaron throwing and not some strangers on Youtube! Pretty fun to watch though (: 

School starts tomorrow for Aaron and I! Wish us luck. Peace and Love. 

Fun stuff to do with old t-shirts

Okay, so basically I suck at the whole blogging thing... So much has happened this summer, and I'm not even going to try to catch up! (way to overwhelming) I'll just start with the now. Today I became obsessed with one of the wonderful projects I found on pinterest! It's called a t-shirt scarf and/or necklace. It is so easy, cheap and cute. These are the ones that I have made so far:

Three different ways to wear the gray stringy one:

Brown ruffly one:

And finally a yellow ruffly one:

I also made a t-shirt necklace:

Cute huh? If you want to see how they are done here's the link for the tutorial I used.

Well, hopefully ya'll will hear from me real soon... and not in another two + months! I'll get on top of this blogging thing. Hopefully. (:

peace. 

Happy Birthday Momma!

Dear Momma,

Today is your 51st Birthday! Happy Birthday (: just to catch you up on what you've been missing with all of us: 

Caleb is in Arkansas working for the summer. He works so hard to provide for his family, he is so brave and heroic. Mandy has been so strong and brave, being home alone with her babies. She is the best mother for Sawyer and Jack. You would be so proud. Sawyer Grace has a smile that lights up the room, she says and does the cutest and sweetest things. It is impossible to not love her. Jack is growing up so fast! He looks a lot like Caleb, and therefore, like you. He is so smart just like his daddy; it astounds me of how much he can do and at such a young age! Send Caleb protection while he is so far from home, and send Mandy comfort.

Andrew needs your help and guidance, now, more than ever. I wish that there was more that I could do for him. Perhaps only a guardian angel like you could help. Send him wisdom, guidance, courage, and strength so that he may be able to do what is required of him. His daughter’s Cali and Jersey don’t know you, but they need you too. Send them love and peace, like you always do.

Ivy has been in Wyoming with Tanner. He is working as an apprentice lineman. Tanner works so hard for her. Protect him, while he is working so far off the ground! Ivy has been really lonely out there—being so far from family and friends, but she is strong and grateful to be with her husband. Send her comfort and peace; not only for her loneliness but for the struggles she is having with the thought of having babies without your physical presence here, and without your advice. I feel her pain, as this is constantly in my thoughts as well. We both have so many questions about what is best for our babies. Send us wisdom and courage to do this without you.

Ben is growing up to be such a handsome young man! He will be a senior this year. He hasn’t changed much in the fact that he loves to show off his little body every chance he gets. Makes me laugh (: I worry about him and Georgie the most, because they had you far less than the rest of us… he needs your wisdom and advice to make it through the daily struggles of High School and girls. Give him an eternal perspective and wisdom, so that he can make good decisions. As always, send him your love.

Georgie makes me laugh. She is quite the fireball—full of attitude and energy! She is so beautiful and looks so much like you. My heart breaks for her. She had you for barely 12 years. I know we aren’t supposed to question God’s plan, but I cannot help but feel the injustice… Georgie has good friends and lots of people to keep an eye on her. I am so grateful for that. But Momma, can you please continue to shape her into the woman that she’s supposed to become? She is so sweet and innocent—she needs your help to stay that way.

As for me, I am doing just fine—most days. Aaron is what makes my world go ‘round, now that you aren’t here. He is amazing and makes me so happy! I have a hunch that you’d like him, do you like him? I do (: The future scares and excites me at the same time… it is hard to believe that I have survived 2 years without talking to you. I told you everything. The good and the bad in my life… you would always say the perfect things—never casting judgment. How did you do that? One of the things I miss most is just talking to you and hearing what you had to say. I remember that every day after school I would come home and you would usually be on your bed reading. I would go in and do a face plant next to you on your bed. You would put your book down and play with my hair or stroke my cheek and ask me about my day. I told you of my proud moments, and my humiliating experiences. You always knew what to say or do to make me feel better. You could always make me laugh, and oh how we laughed! I miss your voice more than anything; your sweet laugh, your stories, your wisdom… I don’t think you realize just how much you influenced and shaped me.

Thank you for being the best momma in the world! I wouldn’t be half the person I am today, if not for your influence. You radiated love and goodness your whole life. Thank you for all those times that you’ve talked me out of doing stupid things. Thank you for encouraging me to be the best that I could be—academically, spiritually, and physically. Thank you for comforting me over everything from scraped up knees, to mean girls, to the occasional broken heart. The thing I can’t understand is how can something ache and throb so badly for so long? Will I ever stop missing you? It has been two years and I still hurt like I did that day you slipped though my fingers. Sometimes I think that I can feel you… are you really there? Watching over all of us? I like to think so. I am getting by on a prayer, and the thought of seeing you again someday. Thanks for being my angel.

Love forever and always,

Your devoted daughter.