Wisconsin and My Job!

So it's been a while, partially because it's been SOOOO busy. I got a job at a preschool in Salt Lake City, called Child Time, Inc.! It's very similar to Bud to Blossom in Salem, Oregon, which I worked at the past two summers, and is a discovery-based preschool. At Child Time, I'm a floater (professional name, huh?), which means I basically cover for other teachers' breaks and send one particular teacher home at the end of the day (so I get to be in the same classroom every afternoon). It's only part-time, which means I still have a little bit of time in the mornings to clean/do laundry/read, etc. Which is nice. :) The kids are super super cute!! And they seem to love me at least as much as I love them... the other day there were like 4 clamoring for my lap at circle time. :) Anyway, it's a good job and though I only make half as much as Michael does, it's way worth it. (He teases me about that and I fake being mad at him, but it's all playful banter and we both know it!)

So, it was awesome because we got to go to Wisconsin for a week a couple weeks ago! We went to stay at a house on the lake that Michael grew up going to every summer, near Amery, Wisconsin, called Lake Wapogasset. It was gorgeous!! And of course I forgot our camera.... Well, at least Michael's Grandpa Anderson is big on the photos and video clips :) Anyway, it was a wonderful time to just relax and hang with family. I got to meet some of Michael's aunts, uncles and cousins too, which was good. It was also awesome to get to meet my sister-in-law Kirsten's husband-to-be! Adam seems like a really great guy and we both wish we had the money to make it out East again for the wedding. We can tell they're going to be happy together though :) Also while we were in Wisconsin, Mom and Dad Hale put on a wedding open house for us! I enjoyed meeting some of the family friends and appreciate the preparation they put into the event. :)

Well, I'd better go and clean up the kitchen before I head off for work! Look out world, here comes Sarah Hale! :)

Morning Bike Ride

The other morning Michael and I were feeling ambitious, so we both got up at 5:00am! We normally get up later than that, but wanted a change for a day. So as soon as he left, I decided to fulfill my daily exercising goal that I would go on a bike ride and take a camera along with me.

It was a beautiful morning and I wanted to get the sunrise in some of the pictures, but I sadly

left too late for that to be the case. Instead I biked to our church building down the street and took pictures there instead. I'm pretty sure Michael thinks I have an uncanny obsession over churches - especially old ones with beautiful construction. Well, this church isn't n

early as old as some churches I've seen or would LOVE to photograph, but it was the closest I could come up with. :)

I really loved taking these pictures, and I almost equally loved photo-shopping them afterwards. I'm no professional, but I do give myself the credit of being an amateur artist, and that's a good start, right?

Picnik.com is the photo-shop program of choice - with

the free version I use there is more than enough for me to play with, and it's all online, which is really nice (it doesn't take up room on my c

omputer, which is a good thing because it would make it even slower - ha!)

I was ecstatic when I found that you can use the black-and-white tool to apply one of my favorite techniques, leaving most of the picture black and white while highlighting a focal point of the photo (or any interesting, colorful piece of the photo, for that matter). So I had fun with that. :) Most of the pictures I edited are variations on just a few of my favorite pictures.

On a different note, I had a funny and encouraging dream the other night. I say "encouragin

g" because it reaffirmed that I am a true mathematician at heart, even though I've been taking a break from math - you know, to get married and stuff. *insert extremely girly giggle here* :)

In this dream I was sitting on the steps of the math building at a prestigious Ivy League university with one of my friends, a fellow math major who I actually know from school in real life (however, she shall remain anonymous).

We were working on the project our professor had given us shortly beforehand, to create a picture telling an adventure story using mathematical symbols (*side note: although I remember the professor showing us some examples. They were mainly on yellowish card stock, and the examples' main characters were crosses between Pac-Man and Jack-O-Lanterns...). Well, we were sitting there, minding our own nerdy business, when a group of skateboarding hooligans with greasy hair and mismatching outfits came rolling around the corner! They looked at us with hatred, disdain, and the intent to do something surely nasty to us, when the leader of the group said loudly, "Oh, LET them do their MATH," turned his nose up, and led the group away. The end.

Needless to say, I woke up laughing.

Oh! I would highly recommend watching the movie Despicable Me. It was absolutely hilarious, witty, and it had a very good message. It is an awesome movie that anyone would enjoy. I gave it a 5-star rating on Netflix, but would totally give it 6 stars if it would have let me. :)

Anyway, thanks for reading! Have a fantastic weekend!

Job!! Finally!!

Michael finally got a job! We were so happy two days ago when we got the phone call! He is working for his dad's cousin Rex's company, Q90, which is a computer software development company. Yesterday was his first day on the job, and he is having a really good time, I can tell. :)
I'm still looking for a job, and would love to have a job working in a daycare or preschool, so if anyone knows of any places that are hiring, let me know!! I'm also looking for secretarial/clerical positions, but no luck so far.
Heavenly Father has sure been blessing us, though. We were offered a job working as site maintenance workers at a rest stop, but they wanted us to work on Sundays. It was hard, but we turned it down. Both of us are pretty sure it was a test, and since we passed it Heavenly Father blessed us!

Recipes

So, since we've been married, I have been experimenting with different recipes and discovered that I love cooking! Michael has gotten used to hearing me ask "Dear, is it OK if I experiment on tonight's dinner?" He then tells me (after he tastes it) whether or not it was a success. I was surprised when he actually was willing to try veggie burgers! :) Here are a couple of my "successes":

Rice-Veggie Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup packed cooked rice
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. dried chopped chives
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1/4 cup salted roasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
• Vegetable oil, for brushing
• Warmed pocket pitas (or fried tortilla shells with the sides folded in - I didn't have pocket pitas at the time)
• Lettuce
• Tomato slices
• Sour cream
• Salsa

Directions:

1. In a food processor, pulse three-fourths of the rice with the cheese and salt until slightly pasty. Add the chives, peas, and seeds and pulse until the peas are coarsely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and knead in the remaining rice. Using moistened hands (the mixture will be very sticky), form the mixture into four 4-inch patties, about 3/4 inch thick, pressing to compact.
2. Preheat a grill pan or nonstick skillet. Brush the burgers with oil and grill over moderate heat until golden and crusty, about 5 minutes. Carefully flip them and grill until heated through and golden, about 5 minutes longer. Stuff the burgers into the pitas or tortillas with lettuce, tomato slices, sour cream, and salsa. Enjoy!

Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup rice
• 5 cups water
• 1 can or 2 small tomatoes, diced
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. minced dried onion
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder (or up to 1 tsp)
• 1/2 tsp. dried chopped chives (or up to 1 tsp)
• 1/8 tsp. dried cayenne pepper
• 1 can chicken, 2 diced chicken breasts, or 1/2 pound ground beef, cooked
• 1/2-1 cup tortilla chips, crushed
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup red pasta sauce
• 1 can chili beans (optional)

Directions

1. Place rice, water, tomatoes, bouillon, and spices in large pan. Bring to a boil.
2. Lower heat to medium-low. Add meat, cover, simmer 20 minutes.
3. Add tortilla chips, sour cream, pasta sauce, and chili beans (if desired). Cover and simmer 5 minutes or until warm throughout.
4. Serve with more tortilla chips.
   

Michael and Sarah - The Hale Family!

Michael and I (that is, Sarah), after dating for a short time, got married on the 15th of May! We are happily living in Midvale, Utah.

I have decided to be at least somewhat better about letting people know what's going on in our lives, so I started this blog. :) In all honesty, I may not be very good about keeping it updated, but it's a start!