New do!

I decided to switch it up a bit and change my hair! I cut bangs about 3 months ago and have been loving the change but wanted something a little more dramatic. It turned out really dark....I feel a little Elviraish but I actually love it! I look so different it's going to take some getting used to but its a fun change! Pay no attention to the dorky poses. It's really awkward taking pictures of yourself ;)

Gratitude Attitude

Casey and I are speaking in church tomorrow and our topic is....can you guess? Yup it's gratitude and may I just say how wonderful it is to study and prepare a talk on gratitude? Ok so this time of year is full of giving thanks and of course I think about it and even write down some of the things I am thankful for but what a blessing (and wake up call) it has been to truly ponder gratitude and what it means. It is amazing to me how much joy comes from sitting down and counting your blessings! Having an attitude of gratitude is a way of life and it is contagious. When you are around someone who brims with gratitude doesn't it make you feel wonderful and so thankful yourself? Thank you to all of you for your posts on gratitude. It puts a smile on my face to read about what makes you all happy! I am thankful for....

cuddling in bed with Casey before we fall asleep

hot chocolate

kisses from babies

laughter

sunshine

the smell of winter time

soft cozy blankets

love notes

clean sheets

books

lipgloss

Christmas music in November....thank you cozy 106.5 (dont tell my husband)

sisters

anything miniature (aka tiny versions of bigger things)

pumpkin roll

tv on dvd

Just to name a few. And of course The Saviour and His atoning sacrifice for me. I love the gospel and I love the Lord! I am truly a blessed woman and am so thankful for all that I have!

Halloween Highlights

Oh how I love Halloween! I've loved dressing up since I was a teeny young thing and I still get so excited for this time of year! I had my Halloween decorations up the first day in Oct. because I couldn't wait any longer. Casey and I are on the activities committee in our ward and were in charge of the cotton candy machine at our ward Halloween party. We couldn't make it fast enough. I think our booth was the hot spot for sure! I dressed up as a colonial maiden and Casey was a sumo wrestler. I loved how our costumes turned out! We both looked so fat it was pretty funny. On Halloween we were able to attend a football game that Ivory was cheering at and then later we joined Kim, Mat, and the kids for some pumpkin carving. Later on Case and I took Chloe out trick or treating with her little friend. They got so much candy they could barely carry their bags! Halloween 2009 was a success :)

I had a ball decorating for Halloween

I think we need to loose a few pounds

Casey took the cotton candy making pretty seriously

Mat's "Head on a Platter" costume was a big
hit. Kim wore my mermaid costume and looked
so sassy!

Cotton Candy Booth

"Halloweenies"
I found the recipe for these in a fun little
Halloween treat book and couldn't resist making
them. I think they turned out adorable!

Casey diligently carving our pumpkin

Kim's kids rocking their costumes

Cedar Breaks 2009

I really wanted to go camping pretty bad this summer and kept bugging Casey about it. Pretty much every week I asked him if we could buy camping gear and go. Finally, this past July, we ended up going with our good friends Zane and Jessica. We decided on Cedar Breaks and it was beautiful. Casey and I didn't have any camping supplies....not even sleeping bags so we did a lot of research and shopping around to find a tent and all of the other necessary supplies. We had a great time just enjoying nature and each others company! We are excited to go camping a lot more next summer!

I love that our tent has a front porch :)

Zane and I cooking my famous breakfast burritos

Posing at the scenic outlook.....Oh Case



Jessica and I posing like the cheesers we are

We went on a little hike that led to this pond
It was a nice easy hike with so many beautiful
things to see along the way



This pond was so quaint and cool looking...
(up close though it was kinda nasty!)

I couldn't get enough of the flowers....so pretty

Doesn't he just have such a charming smile?

One Fabulous Year

Case and I celebrated our one year anniversary on June 20, 2009! The first year of marriage flew by and I must say I love being married. Yeah I know that is so cliche' and everything but it's so true. I was born to be a wife and a homemaker. Who knew I would love taking care of a husband and home so much. Case is a fantastic husband. It is so wonderful to be married to your best friend. We truly laugh constantly and I love that marriage is like a constant sleepover. The only difference is Casey will not be painting his or my toenails anytime soon. For our anniversary we stayed at the Homestead up in Midway. We were able to eat at Ruth's Chris in Park City just like we did on our first night as a married couple. I only have one picture from the weekend but I have to share because it's too funny! Casey put on his church shoes with his basketball shorts and kept calling them his slippers. It was a little weird honestly. Then he fell asleep wearing them and I had to take a picture because it was cracking me up!

Hawaii 2009

Casey and I were privileged enough to join his family on a trip to Hawaii this past May. We went to Oahu and stayed at the Marriott. It was a wonderful week of relaxing and delicious food! Oh how I love vacationing with the Bacons! I just picked some of my favorite pics to share. Enjoy!
We laid out everyday and just enjoyed the scenery.....Gorgeous!

Our beautiful resort

We loved posing at every restaurant we went to



Prime Rib at Haleiwa Joe's

One of the nights the guys all went out for Sushi so the
girls all went out and had a relaxing dinner and then a nice
walk along the beach! Such a fun night

Delicious shaved ice from Matsumotos... Doesn't Casey look
so excited to eat his?

This is at the Polynesian Cultural Center at the luau. Trust
me when I say this was the best picture of Casey and I.
So sad but so true :)

The beautiful Honolulu Temple

Case and I had the chance to hang out in the U.S.S. Bowfin
at Pearl Harbor before catching our flight back home

I'm Back!

Hello fellow bloggers! It's been so long since my last post! Things have been crazy busy in the Bacon household. We've had birthdays and camping trips, vacations and anniversaries, crazy work schedules etc... So much to blog about and so little time....plus some laziness and lack of discipline to get anything done! Well I've made the resolve to blog at least once a week. Maybe I'll be caught up by Christmas! I will have pictures and updates from the last six month soon! So sorry to all of my blogging friends whose blogs I have not looked at in months. I am going to be much better! Loves to you all!

On my way to a fit new Mii....

Have any of you tried the Wii fit? I love it! Case got it for me as an early birthday present and so I busted it out tonight and had some fun! I was nervous to get weighed...I have no idea how accurate it is but I weighed less than I thought I would. Also my BMI was within normal range! That's always a happy thing. I still have a very long way to go but I'm excited to get in shape!

I have been pretty good this week with eating well and being active. I broke down and had sugar today and I put sour cream ( it was light sour cream) on my tostada tonight...baby steps my friends ;) If anybody has any tips on how to ward of cravings I'd love to hear them. It seems like when I'm trying to be good sweets just sing to me. Don't even get me started on bread.

Wake Up Call

Do you ever think....."Oh my goodness how did this happen?" Whether it's a messy house, an empty gas tank, a forgotten birthday, or a double chin? It seems like at those moments many of us tend to make excuses or worse than that we shirk all accountability and blame others. I know I do and honestly I am embarrassed. Well lucky for me I had somewhat of a wake up call yesterday. I realized how empowering it can be to know that I have the ability to take responsibility for my actions and become a better me! I can make a difference and I can change. For months now I have been unhappy with my body. I have gained weight simply from being inactive and making poor choices. Guess what? I can fix that! All I need is discipline and motivation and I can get back into shape and back into my skinny jeans! Its seems like common sense but for some reason it had slipped my mind and as a result not only was I unhappy but I was letting outside forces rule my life! It won't be easy in fact I'm sure I'll fall flat on my face many times, but any effort to improve one's life is worth the battle. This concept works with anything we are struggling with. It's pretty amazing what we are capable of once we are willing to take the first step! It's official....the first step has been taken!

Chick- a -Bitty!

Kim and I went shopping for Easter decorations today and found some fabulous little things at Robert's. I love spring and all of the fun pastel colors. I went to Michael's after we went to Robert's and found some little chicks I thought were so adorable. My nickname when I was really little was Chick-a-Bitty and so I've always been partial to baby chicks. I decided to make some nests with Easter eggs and the little chick. I think it turned out pretty cute especially since I am about as crafty as a tree stump. I can't wait to make something else!

Complete Closet Makeover!

I have a really hard time keeping my closet clean. It was getting embarrassing and poor Casey was just dealing with it kindly. I don't mean to let things get so bad I just have always struggled with hanging things up after wearing them. If you notice in the "Before" pictures you will see there is barely anything hanging up. I am mortified to admit this and show it openly on my blog but the "After" is so great I just had to share! Enjoy and try really hard not to judge me. The rest of my house is quite lovely and clean ;)

BEFORE

AFTER

Best Valentines Day Yet!

I simply adore Casey and his amazing thoughtfulness and his ability to make me so darn happy! I had a super busy week last week and just felt like I was falling further and further behind on everything from housework to my spiritual well being. Leave it to my fabulous husband to pick up the slack and keep our lives running smoothly. Last Wednesday, when I got home from work late, he had cleaned the entire house. He mopped and swept and vacuumed and scrubbed and shined! The house looked amazing.
I got home at 4 a.m. Saturday morning and was so tired that I knew I wanted Valentine's Day to be low key and low maintenance. We had a wedding to attend that afternoon and on the way home he told me I had an appointment for a mani/pedi! My favorite ;) While I was being pampered he was at home putting the finishing touches on a meal he had been preparing for the past two days! (to keep it a surprise he had done a lot of the preperations at his mom's house) He had candles lit and everything! After our fabulous meal he brought out a stack of all of our chick flick movies and let me choose which one I wanted. So sweet and so perfert! It was just what I wanted and more. I truly picked a winner :)

Annual Bacon Beaver Creek Trip!

Case and I had the privilege of spending last weekend with his parents at Beaver Creek Ski Resort in Colorado. Our Condo was gorgeous and the resort was so charming.

There were two master suites so Case and I got
the upstairs suite. The view was awesome...

and so was the king size bed!

This was our view from the living room area!

I was a little nervous to ski because I hadn't really skied before. Casey was such a perfect and patient teacher. We had a few mishaps ( okay I had a few mishaps) and there were a few tears shed, (look people I'm emotional ok?) but all in all it was actually a ton of fun. I was so sore the next day that every muscle was throbbing. I walked like and 80 year old who had to go poo poo. :) It's definitely time to get in shape!

I knew I loved Costco!

So last night Case and I made a quick trip to Costco for a few things. It actually was a pretty frustrating trip. I wanted to get eggs, socks, and razor blade refills. They were out of eggs, the only socks they had were halvsies...you know the work out socks, and the razor blade refills were a crappy deal. I could get them cheaper at Walmart. I was feeling pretty bummed. While we were checking out Casey asked if I'd go get him a polish dog. I glady obliged. Somehow in the process of paying for his hotdog and filling up his drink I sat my wallet down and left it! It was closing time and not very many people were around. I didn't even realize it was missing until this morning when I was getting ready for work and packing my flight bag! I was sick because I realized immediately what had happened! At this point it was in the hands of the Costco workers.....Well they did me right! Casey called later this morning ( I was flying around the country) and they had it there and waiting for me with not a penny missing of the $250 cash I had inside! Way to go Costco. I truly love you!

Yummy soup for Yucky weather

The weather has been horrendous all day and both Casey and I were under the weather yesterday. Needless to say we both wanted some comfort and something soothing for our sick bellies. I was searching for chicken noodle soup recipes and found this one on the food network. Courtesy of Tyler Florence. I made it tonight and not only was it fast and easy it was delicious!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs ( I didn't have fresh so I used dried and it turned out fine)
  
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 quarts chicken stock, recipe follows ( I used store bought chicken stock because I didn't have the time or the energy to make my own)
  
• 8 ounces dried wide egg noodles
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken ( I used a rotisserie chicken I bought at Walmart. They also sell them at Costco. The chicken was really moist and seasoned very well)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Directions

Place a soup pot over medium heat and coat with the oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Pour in the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes until tender. Fold in the chicken, and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes to heat through; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Chicken Stock:

• 1 whole free-range chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds), rinsed, giblets discarded
• 2 carrots, cut in large chunks
• 3 celery stalks, cut in large chunks
• 2 large white onions, quartered
• 1 head of garlic, halved
• 1 turnip, halved
• 1/4 bunch fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Place the chicken and vegetables in a large stockpot over medium heat. Pour in only enough cold water to cover (about 3 quarts); too much will make the broth taste weak. Toss in the thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns, and allow it to slowly come to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, partially covered, until the chicken is done. As it cooks, skim any impurities that rise to the surface; add a little more water if necessary to keep the chicken covered while simmering.

Carefully remove the chicken to a cutting board. When its cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones; hand-shred the meat into a storage container.

Carefully strain the stock through a fine sieve into another pot to remove the vegetable solids. Use the stock immediately or if you plan on storing it, place the pot in a sink full of ice water and stir to cool down the stock. Cover and refrigerate for up to one week or freeze.

Yield: 2 quarts

New Year's 2009

We had another crazy, busy, and super fun week! My family all got together for New Years this year. Everyone arrived Wednesday and we started the party at Kim and Mat's place. We had a delicious turkey dinner and tons of yummy snacks and treats.

Hannah enjoying the fun!

The Kids had tons of fun gaming it up downstairs with the Wii and Air Hockey

Uncle Casey in action

Ben and Jason playing Air Hockey

So much joy in this little face!

Ben's up 4 to 1!

Baby Brent and those sparkly blue eyes

Josh in his party gear

Cole bustin a move

Hannah enjoying the New Years Slush

Work it Alexis

Case and I were in charge of a balloon drop for the

festivities. Case spent hours blowing up balloons.

His finger was blistered and his jaw ached the next day...

but it was so worth it when it was all said and done!

We had poppers and streamers and balloons
and don't forget the Martinelli's for toasting!

Toasting to a Happy New Year!

Taylor working the feathered tiara!

What a cute couple eh?

After midnight we put all of the balloons from the
balloon drop into the kids jump house.

It was a big hit....until someone got hurt. Oops!

The kids pretty much attacked Uncle Casey all week long.

We went sledding on Friday

The kids had a blast despite icy cold conditions

and a few minor injuries

It was the perfect day for sledding!

Tanner and Carter sleeping on the LuvSac at our place!

We really had a great week with the Fam! We are happy everyone came up to share a lot of laughs and to make a ton of fun memories. Case and I want this year to be the best yet and will do everything in our power to make it that way! Happy New Year everybody!