Okay, going to get caught up here!

As most of you know by now Don, Carter, Tigger and I have moved to Glendale, AZ. Don had been applyng for Grad school and Thunderbird International School of Business (Global management) was his top pick. We got the email and letter around December 16th of acceptance into the Spring semester at Thunderbird and needed to be in Arizona to start refresher classes, orientation and school by the 10th of January. WHAT!?? Wow...think fast for sure! While Don still had to work during the day helping a friend build his home, I was busy calling apartments and my own Landlord. Conveniently enough our contract was up at the end of the month, so to say we will not be renewing was not a huge issue. I researched some apartments in Arizona and narrowed them down to a few. It's always difficult to do them sight unseen...but this would be our 3rd time renting before seeing. Anyway.... we were certainly busy the end of December! Between planning, apartment saving, Christmas, family coming in, and packing it was CRAZY. But we survived! :) Christmas was awesome too.. my sister Brittany and husband, Jay and son flew in from Idaho. This was the first time I got to meet Michael, who was then 8 month old. What a cute chunky monkey! LOVE him! My brother Ben and his wife Heather and daughter Alli came down from Nashville area and, of course my mom and dad. It was a lot of fun! Then Don's sister Susan and husband Aaron and two kids Jordan and Madison (plus Elsi and Einstein - dogs) came the weekend after Christmas to help clean and load the truck. I had everything already packed, but the cleaning was the big issue! It's hard to do that with a little boy running around everywhere. Wow they helped a TON..I mean, a TON! Our Landlord said she had never seen a placed move out so sparkling and fresh. She gave us every bit of our deposit back (minus carpet cleaning fee) and our pet fee back. SCORE! :) Thanks Tulicks!

We were set and left the morning of the 3rd. Don drove a large Penske truck, pulling his car and I drove my Subaru Outback with Carter and Tigger. I was worried about moving across country because of Tigger. I did not want him to be traumatized and start bad habits at our new place (like scratching furniture or peeing on the walls..etc, as many do when stressed) But to make a long story short (as if it wasn't long already) We made it out to Arizona in 4 days and Tigger and Carter did wonderfully! I mean, seriously - they were awesome! They did about as good as you could ever ask for a spunky cat and a 1 year old trapped in a car for hours on hours everyday for 4 days. The Lord really hears sincere pleas! We made it to Little Rock, Arkansas the first night... Shamrock, TX the next, Gallup, NM the following and then finally to Glendale late afternoon on the 6th. Whew.... Took an hour to sign even more stuff in the office (thought everything we faxed in would eliminate the wait...nope.) and opened the doors to our new home for the first time. Not to shabby for never checking it out. :) We moved in, and have been getting along well ever since. Arizona is not too bad. I love Tennessee...but it is nice to live in a large area again, where I don't have to travel over an hour or two to go shopping. :)

..... I have started a food blog. I am trying to experiment and make new things and then record them for myself and anyone else who might want to try. The blog is called "Yumminess Just Became A Word" (www.perfectpalate.blogspot.com) .

.... Valentines Day! I already wrote a little something on my food blog, so I am just going to crop and paste that here. I'll update with another blog post here soon of what we have been up to thus far.
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(food blog entry)
February 14th....the most dreaded or anticipated love day of the year. Of course, I had someone to spend it with again, 5th year in a row might I add :) So what can you do on V-day with a husband in school, a 1 year old that you can't take to a busy late night restaurant and when the piggy bank looks anorexic? Make your own fabulous night of course!
I had text Don earlier that day and asked him to be home by 7:30pm because I made reservations at P.F. Chang's.-- (he was probably thinking I was crazy!!)-- So when he got home a few mins shy of 7:30 I had almost everything done :D He was surprised..and greatly relieved... because the thought of taking Carter to a restaurant during this busy night and at bed time is not a fun idea. So we fed and played with Carter (I had already given him his bath), we read scriptures, sang some songs and off to sleep he went. Don and I changed into some fancy fancy stuff, I took pictures and placed dinner on the table, lit the candles - turned Pandora (.com) on and we feasted to a lovely at home Valentines dinner.

Don and I

Let's EAT!

I made Sesame Chicken over white rice, with Chow Mein and Snow Peas.

Sesame Chicken, Fruit, Sparkle Drink and Candles...mmmm!

My hurried make-shift sign :D

Sesame Chicken Recipe:
You'll need one of these packets from your local grocery. Look in the Asian isle. I found Ingles or Albertsons carries them. I have ordered them from the company before too.
The directions are on the back of the seasoning packet...but this is how I do it:
Take about a pound of chicken and trim then cut into chunks.
Place chunks in a large sealed plastic bag with a 1/4 Cup of Soy Sauce and 1/4 Cup of Corn Starch, plus 2 Tbs of water. Mix around and marinate for 5-10 mins.
Get a large skillet out and pre-heat with Canola oil. Pour out the chicken and mixture and stir till chicken is brown and cooked thoroughly.
After the chicken is cooked pour in a little more oil, then the packet of seasoning along with 1/2 Cup of white sugar, and 1/4 cup of water. Mix all around and turn heat down to about a 3-4. The combination of seasoning and corn starch with will make the mixture nice and thick.
After the mixture is thick you can dish out over a bowl/plate of rice and add either Chow Mein Noodles, more Sesame Seeds or Cashews. :) ENJOY!
The fruit I used were Strawberries, Bananas and Watermelon. YUM!
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Now for DESSERT!
(read all before making..warning tip)
I made a quick easy version of the Hot Lava Chocolate Cake.
I bought a cool GIANT cup cake pan at WalMart.
I used a box of Devils food Cake and mixed as directed. Then I filled both sides of my pan to 3/4 full. Popped in the oven and let cool afterward before transferring out of pan. (Make sure you grease your pan with Crisco or Pam Spray and then lightly flour, for the cakes can come right out!..I use Pam Spray Canola).
Take cakes out of pan and onto a cutting board or something similar.
Take a sharp long knife and cut a circle out of the top and carve out the cake "inners".
Save top and scraps. Now fill the cake with Hershey's Chocolate Syrup. Though, I am pretty sure next time I will use a higher quality chocolate - like a fondue type - Then stuff the scraps into your mouth, or give them to your child (which he then spits out all onto the floor and steps on it and makes a huge mess...wait, did I just say that out loud?) and take the top and plug your chocolate syrup stuffed cake. CAREFUL! I made the mistake of making my cake too full and when I plugged it up it split the sides and pretty much bled to death. Not pretty.

So I decided to do something different with my other piece. I sliced the top straight off, instead of carving it out. This way after I fill the cake with chocolate there will be no added pressure with the top going back on. it will just lay on top of the sliced edges. GENIUS I tell you! :-P
So try and not make my first mistake. Okay, now you filled it in and you placed the top on. Good job. Now wrap in plastic and place in the freezer till whenever you are going to use it.


I made this treat in the morning and froze it for the day. When we sat down for dinner I took it out of the freezer and placed it on the kitchen counter. When we were ready to eat I popped it into the microwave for 1 min 30 secs till nice and warm. I then sprinkled it with powder sugar and drizzled more chocolate over the top. Wish I had some ice cream! You can serve with whip cream and strawberries if you'd like. YUM!... it looks impressive and is very easy to do. Enjoy!