Something we both enjoy....

Bryce and I have had it with the weather. We were like bears in hibernation. I spent 90% of the winter bundled up... in blankets sitting on the 90 degree angle of our couch. I found a new love for netflixs and I didn't care to change it. I like mocking a bear. but now the bears are coming out of hibernation and I suppose I should too. It is not warm enough to hang out outside but it is time to accomplish SOMETHING. Bryce and I have decided to take a photography class. We love taking pictures and spending time together so what a better way that to take on together. We are already a few weeks in to our class and have learned so much, coming soon will hopefully be some great pictures but for now I thought I would post some of my favorite pictures/photographers....

Laine Images

Thomas D Mangelsen

D'Andrew International

Coming soon: Hardman wannabe's

My oh my...

There is way too much going on in the Hardman house! I thought I would update before I get extremely behind. I have been so busy just trying to play catch up on my normal life since school has been out.. it is crazy. so here are a few things that have been going on in our house:

the deck is nearly done! Bryce is putting on the last 10 ballisters as we speak.. anyone wanna come help us seal the sucker??? Anyone??? I am VERY excited for the deck to be done, now we just need to get the hammock up and spend our lazy summer in our backyard. The last 2 major things are the garage and the basement living room. both are which usable and can wait til fall.

Our bedroom is nearly done too! I just have the last 8 pictures to hand up along with our curtains and we are complete. I just got out nightstand today. It has been nice to have our room revamped but it will be nice when it is finished to match what I have been imagining. I have to admit that the before pictures are AWFUL... but I think you will all enjoy the after picture which will be coming soon (along with the deck pictures...)

we cant forget the new bundle of joy that entered in to the family. She is soooooo cute!



Last week I got my papers submitted to the state.. in the next few weeks I will be 'official' even though I was done a few weeks ago. I am excited to have that paper in hand, at about the same time my diploma will come through.

My last piece of exciting news in we got a new washer and dryer! I have been dealing with our old one far too long. I had to convince Bryce it was time and after doing one load of laundry he was on the band wagon. It is so nice to have clean, fresh smelling laundry. our old set got them clean.. to a point. I am very excited! And they are cute!!!!!!

to finish of the events that are going on here are the pictures from my graduation BBQ we had nearly two weeks ago (*Note.. My cute and adorabel nephew, Chad was behind the camera, now you know why there are so many durty looks). Hopefully by week end I will have:

Vegas Pictures

Deck Pictures

Bedroom Pictures

My Brother Will (note his finger, my apologies if anyone is offended)

My Nephew, Kaleb

Bryce and his two cousins Jerry and Dustin

Misty (Dustins wife) and Debbie

Uncle eric

Grandma Drase

Eddie

Brit

My sister Jen


My sister Aimee, showing you how food is to be consumed

Amber and Aimee


My niece, Emi

Bryce Cousins, Jerry and Dustin

My Brother (in law) Mike

Kaleb

Bryce, Debbie, me, Brit and Eddie

Will

Kaleb

Aimee with Baby Brooklyn

Cam, controlling the grill

Lets get this party started!

Ok one last story, as we all know my favorite food is pumpkin chocolate chip cookie. I had asked Jen if she would make some and she did. At first it was an on going war of who would consume the first cookie between me and Will: ha ha I won! Not long after I hide the cookies. Half way through the meal Will asks me where I hid the cookies.. This is the picture of me trying to beat my oh so adorable nephew cam to the door.. needless to say he beat me to it and locked me out of my entire house!

Somehow his own mother managed to get her way into the house and got me the cookies. After that it was a full on war of who got the cookies.... I eventually did share the cookies. oh and Will had his own batch sitting at home for him... so he ate mine first then went home to his and didnt share!

Its official!

Hi Samantha,

I got this, this morning!

Hi Samantha,

Thank you for submitting an application for graduation, upon reviewing the evaluation of your audit you have been cleared for graduation for May, 2010 upon completion of your schedule & hours. Your diploma will be mailed 6-8 weeks after the semester ends.


Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information or questions.



Tyler Severson
Graduation Technician

This just made my day, since I am opting to not 'walk' my official date is April 30th... WOOO HOOO

Bad hair day, Expired, Sara and More to come

I am on another random thought. I have had so many things that I want to post but just haven't had time so we are doing a 4 in one post. I have 3 more in the works in the cute head of mine (it never stops working.. I need an off switch, anyone know where it is at?) This week I am preparing for midterms so hopefully I will have the next 3 posts up before the week is over and if I am really lucky I will even work on my Wednesday Wonders.. oh i have lots of those.

I thought I would show you what Same Deuce has been up to. Don't worry, all bad hairstyles start of horrifying. The uglier they are in the beginning the better they turn out in the end.. and let me tell you she looked beautiful after I was done with her.



Why do I talk about Sam deuce so much? I spend 90% of my time with her outside of work time. That leaves 5% for Bryce and 5% to sleep. Really just ask him...

You want to know what really did that to Sam Deuce??? This...



My warranty has expired and it you are paying enough attention I really was driving when I took that. I am great at multi tasking. This is not something I do everyday...

Now on to more important matters, Have I told you about my friend Sara?? I met her when I was 21 and in the singles ward. She was in the relief society presidency and became my friend through all the family crap. She did alot for me. She got married in 2005 and this is the night she got engaged...



(Sorry Sara I stole your picture! Please forgive me!)

Since then she has moved out of state but she is still a great friend. She is the most beautiful pregnant woman I have seen in my life.. and she was so kind as to give me the recipe I have been craving for 4 years. I got the chance to make a dessert for a baptism and this is what I made. Thanks Sara! (oh and one of the posts is this recipe) These are called cowboy cookies. I made enough to feed an army. an I at the majority of them.. yum! Beware: once you have had them you will never go back to the boring chocolate chip cookie... they are heaven, just like Sara!







Last on my list is another one of the post I hope to do this week. here is the preview!



Thanks Beckah for a fun filled night! And for putting up with my twitching eyes and crinkled forehead, I need to look at getting those fixed!

I still play with dolls. Dont judge me...

The title is all to true. I have let the cat out of the bag. Bryce's mom Debbie says to never grown up. Taking the kid out of one person just makes them no more fun. So let me introduce you to my doll Sam Deuce (I used to have a doll named Genevieve but she just got tired and old so I had to kick her to the curb)...






Oh wait.. she has a little stage fright. Lets try again...






She just got a hair cut... isn't it just so great??????



And her name really is Sam Deuce. See..




I was thinking about tattooing my name in my neck to.

p.s. I thought I would update you a little on what is going on in school. Things are going well I am fully caught up even though I have been sick and I am starting to feel like I am getting back into the swing of things. Before I know it I will be done.. but not without Sam Deuce

The dark and dirty side **post note

I am really trying to be more on top of things this semester, with that I guess it is due time for my goals for this year. My first goal is to finish school. Every semester something has come up or gotten in the way of me finishing school. This semester is no different. I have one really messed up teacher who thinks it is ok to not answer emails or call you back. It has left me frustrated, not registered for a class and Hating myself for emailing her boss about it :( oh well right?? I gotta get this done. My next goal is to take my state boards for my license! I am terrified! I know with lots of hard work from Myself, Bryce and my friends I will be able to do so. This is the year that I would like to get my life completely back on track. I have been working 5 1/2 long hard years and it is time to be complete the path so I can enjoy life a little bit more with Bryce. He is working very hard to finish our house and even made a deal with me to not let him work on it during the summer when we should be out camping, hiking and BBQ with family and friends. He is now working eagerly hard while I am in school to finish the utility room and food storage (almost done!!!), basement living room, garage and deck (those are almost done too!) and the upstairs bathroom (blah). Wish us luck.. some days we will need it. Our bedroom is almost complete. I ran out of money (stupid tuition... stupid books...) I promise promise promise to get that completed as soon as I have some free money (anyone need haircuts to support the 'Sam is broke for the moment fund'????????) ok now I am rambling...
Bryce has for the first time every decided to not wash his face. Kind of a shock to those who see him often. The time has come for him to finally clean his face! I like his facial hair but I like his baby face. Take a look....

I also decided to throw a bit of a curve ball out there... presenting...

ok that is all you get for now. In case you cant tell (because my hair is still wet from the shower) I went dark... as dark as they come. Welcome to the dark and dirty side.

** Post note. I have one more goal! One more that I think we can all commit to and succeed. I have been trying very hard to NOT do this since the end of October but I have slipped up so now that I have it out in the open means I CANT do it anymore. Texting while driving. I am a severe offender of this but I have tried really hard not to since I was shown a video of what can happen when you text while drive. It was Disturbing but I made myself finish it and it brings back memories of that video every time I open my phone and I am driving. So if you don't hear back from me when you text me I am most likely driving... or I am ignoring you.

New Recipe.. I'm slacking

I am really trying hard, now that school is starting back up, to not abandon my blog. No promises but I will try (for those 3 blog followers that I have!) I thought I would post another one of my super easy recipes in lieu of school starting up again and not having much time. On Tues and Wed nights I will have barely enough time to run home to eat dinner with my handsome man then run back to fill my brain jam packed with state rules and regulations. Fun stuff. Here is my version of Pan Fried..

2 chicken breast cut into cubes and cooked to your preference (or you can go super easy and use a rotisserie chicken)
3 Knorr Vegetables bullion
1/2 of white onion
1 package of frozen mixed veggies of your choice
1 packs of rice noodles/sticks
soy sauce

I boil my chicken with chicken bullion but you can cook your chicken in the wok if you would like to keep this meal to one dish (less cleaning!). Put aside... When you start your chicken you will want to put your rice sticks into hot water in a bowl and let them soak. Before you add to the dish you are going to want to cut them up in half.

Chop Onion into smaller pieces. Heat up wok add a dab of oil (veggie or olive) add onion and half of one veggie bullion. saute onion and add in frozen veggies. When veggies are warm add in chicken, cook for 4 minutes. take a half cup of water and dissolve the rest of the bullion. Add in noodles to the wok along with the bullion. Cook for 3 more minutes until the bullion is dissolved. add a splash of soy sauce to taste. Enjoy!

Now I get the maifun noodles at walmart. At harmons they are 4.00 for a bag and walmart they run about 2.00 a bag. If you have an Asian store close to you go there and get some. They are about a 1.00 a bag for a bigger bag. It doesn't have to be maifun brand but I like them so I stick with them.


I also use Knorr (de pollo) Vegetable bullion. I LOVE the knorr chicken, beef, and veggie bullion. It seems to have the best flavor. Sorry the picture is blurry. you can find this at harmons, walmart, winco or any other grocery store.

As I said I just boil the chicken and then cube the chicken afterwards
Yum, Yum, Yum!!!!

*after note: Our room is almost completed! I am super excited. I just need to get my pictures back up on the wall and wait for my curtains to be returned (I paid someone to sew them just os I didnt have to deal with them! I can not sew a straight line if my life depended on it!) I will post pics as soon as I have them back. For those who saw my room before the revamp I am oh so sorry! I am excited for the big reveal!!!!!

New Recipe

Ok so lately I know I have been abandoning my blog. I am tired, frustrated, exhausted, sad, overwhelmed, happy, tired, frustrated.. Ok I am repeating myself. This semester in school has definitely taken its toll on me (ask any who sees me! I am always fall asleep, yawning or crying out my frustrations.. really). I am trying to enjoy school but I just don't have the energy in me to keep up sometimes. Due to that my house is a mess, laundry isn't getting done, and food is missing out of our pantry! I have no idea where it is gone. anyways...

Bryce and I have come up with this brilliant plan to not only save money but to help with time restriction both of us may have. We are now planning our meals out two week in advance. 2 weeks is ALOT of time (well it is for me) and 2 weeks with only 1 trip to the store??? am I crazy??? So far (knock on wood) it has been a huge success and so far we are seeing as little as 10 dollars to 100 dollars a week in our pockets. I thought I was a scheduler before but I really have to be scheduled for this. I also have all of our recipes in my laptop so on Monday nights we go through and pick out our meals for the next 2 weeks, I make a shopping list, print all the recipes and post them on the fridge so Bryce can make that oh so amazing food I make! really, it takes skill (for the amazing food and organization) do I have you lost yet?? well lets get onto the recipe. I did not take a picture because it looks AWFUL but some of the best food I have had looks horrible so I thought I would post the recipe and let you try it before you see it. This one I got from my great Sister in law Alisha.. she is AMAZING when it comes to organization, cooking, and family time.. I want to be just like her. Here it is:

Chicken Tortilla Soup (the VERY VERY easy version)
1 rotisserie chicken - cut into chunks or shredded
1 can of chicken broth
2 cans of 'rotel' (that is the brand) stewed tomatoes with chilies.
1 can of no fat refried beans
1/2 cup of frozen corn

Throw all of it in a pan and simmer for 15 minutes
Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese and or tortilla shells.

it is YUMMY! and with the weather so crummy, it is a nice fast easy recipe. Even your hubby can do it!

Stuck

For the last 8 year of my life I have been stuck between a rock and a hard spot. For the last 6 years it has been more pronounced than before. The last 4 has been the most difficult and the last 2 I have been able to adjust and not let it effect my life near as much. I am talking about my family.


I realize I have not had very much good or anything at all to say about some of my family on my blog but the truth is.. its ugly and it is reality. I am not going to sugar coat things. We all have our problems and I hate it when pretty pictures are painted of our lives and then reality hits and we ask 'where did this come from?' 'How long has it been going on?' and the ever most popular 'How did this happen?' so excuse me for a just a minute while I paint another picture of my life for you.


This last past weekend our camping trip camping to a grinding halt when the weather decided not to cooperate. I can take cold weather any day but mix that with wet and it is flat out miserable. Now let me jump back to the week prior, as you can see I attended my dad's family reunion. I went because I needed to be there, I did not go because of my family. My expectations of them are not very high but let me tell you it was one of the most enjoyable weekends I have had with them in a very very long time. Even my oldest sister was nice and nice is not in her dictionary. I was amazed, and besides my tire being broken, the weekend was a huge success! I had no intentions of being with them but it ended up that way. I feel like my mom was trying. On Tuesday I went to her house to pick up some things that they had hauled for us. My sister just older than me was also nice! Could this be a dream come true or a slap in the face with reality that was coming my way? For the first time in my niece's life I received even a picture of her from my sister and to top it off I received an invite to her graduation and to lunch this coming up weekend. Wow!


Now back to this weekend.. since our plans crashed I decided to head up to the U to attend my sisters graduation and leave this following weekend available for whatever may come our way. I am proud of my sister and with this new found niceness that I was experiencing I found myself longing for my sister in my life. I wanted to hug her, cry with her, tell her everything that is going on in my life. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs for her as she walked across the stage to receive and award she has been working for, for years. That is my sister and I am proud of her! After the ceremony I felt anything but that. There was a snide little comment from another that made all that niceness disappear and my hopes come crashing down that there may have been a change in some of my family members.


The point is not that is matters who said it or what was said but that it made me doubt myself. I doubt my life, I doubt what I am doing is the right thing for me, I doubt my schooling, and I doubt that I will ever be good enough for anyone (friends, family, boys, children). I have spent my entire life trying to be just as great as my sister and the reality is that I wont. She has exceeded everything in life and that is hard to follow.


My hope is having my family back came crashing down once again and I found myself in the same position as I have always been in, having high hope to have them stubble down upon me. I cannot expect much from my family and I knew this. Knowing this I set myself up once again for complete failure and risking my emotions for it all.


After time and time again of blubbering this to Bryce (bawling and mumbling) I have come to conclusion that I am doing the best I can, and work hard to not let this effect me even though every day I am jealous, hurt, adore, envy everyone I see that has an awesome relationship with their family. You can never get a mothers love (or sisters in this case) from anyone but your mother. I hope in my life I am choosing the things that are right for me. At this moment I doubt myself but give me a few days and I wont. I will never be as good as her, as beautiful as her, as smart as her, or as fast as her. Now I guess the one thing I am doubting, can I open the door for just a bit longer for my family to come around? That I do not know and I don't know if I am willing to risk that but for right now I can honestly say that I am proud of my sister! (even if we don't get along)



** Post note, this did not come across as I wanted it to but I cant explain everything that is in my head on this subject, please be understanding.

Its official

yep that is right, no school. I am a drop out! just kidding. I am, however, taking the summer off. One of my classes is not offered during the summer and my elective, well music is not my personally preference, and there is too much work for that class in too little of time. The finances of this class is out the roof too. so I am going to wait til fall to take a calligraphy class instead. It's official! come fall, I will be non existent!