im glad i married a talented man who puts things on like the rexburg poetry slams and participates in them.
one day, i will read a poem at one of these.
one day.

this town is full of talented people.
here are some of my favorite poets from last night.

in case you are far from an El Polo Loco or you just want to make your own, here is a really good (& Vegan) recipe we found for El Polo Locos sweet corn cake.

2/3 cup Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread
1/3 cup masa harina (corn flour)
4 Tablespoons cold water
10 oz. frozen corn kernals or corn from 2 large fresh cobs
3 tablespoons polenta (cornmeal)
1/3 cup of turbinado or 2 tablespoons Brown Rice Syrup (can also substitute
molasses or maple syrup)
*We use honey
2 tablespoons plain unsweetened soy milk (or Rice, Keifer, Almond- whatever
milk you like)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Place Earth Balance in mixer bowl and whip until soft and fluffy. Add masa
harina gradually, mix well. Add water, mix thoroughly. Place corn in blender or
food processor and coarsely chop. Add to masa mixture. Put aside.

In seperate bowl mix polenta, sweetener, soy milk, baking powder and salt. Add
butter-masa mixture. Mix lightly until just blended. Pour into 8-inch greased
baking pan and cover. Place pan in larger pan and pour boiling water in larger
pan (creating a double boiler for the oven). Bake in a 400 degree preheated oven
for about 40-50 minutes adding more boiling water if necessary. When corn cake
is cooked through, remove from oven and allow to stand at room temperature for
15 minutes before cutting. Cut into squares or use a small ice scream scoop to
serve.

* We sometimes cook for 50 minutes in the double boiler, remove from the boiler and just bake it with foil on top for about 5 more mins.

YOU GUYS THIS IS THE BEST THING I VE SEEN ALL DAY!!!
Bill Nye (the science guys) House!

i have attempted to watch the latest episode of downton abbey 6 times.
s.i.x.
and i havent made it past 31:02.
its 1:33:17 long.
every one in:

class
facebook
my weekly meeting with my professor
the blog world
etc.

keeps talking about what happened
BUT I STILL DONT KNOW!
can some one please just tell me what all the hype is about?
im loosing all motivation to watch it.
 (jk. please dont really tell me what happens. im just sleepy and grumpy and miss having my husband home at night.)

late night summer nostalgia.

We took a day trip to jackson wyoming.
We visited a candy shop, a spice and oil shop that was REALLY cool and they let you try every thing and anything you wanted, (we made out with some masala) we roamed around, saw some taxidermy, and had a good time.
and now i do not want to go back to the real life tomorrow...

but it was a pretty drive and the hot springs felt so good!

today i stepped on a hair straightener that was 400 degrees.
i was bare foot.
and it burnt the soft part of the side of my foot.
and it hurt.

but dont worry.
G got a me a really soft puppy dog.
(not a real one. not yet.)
and though i am not really a stuffed animal kind of gal,
i really needed this.
because sleeping alone in a basement full of noises when you are afraid of the dark can be scary.

and have you tried the Baja Blast Freeze at Taco Bell?
oh. baby.
it is so good.

and, if you are in rexburg and havent been to one of the poetry slams at sammys or the hickory, you need to.

heres to a great day with amazing friends and an even more amazing husband.

i love G every day, but today is just a day to make sure he knows it.
and even though we're not really into the whole valentines day traditions, its still nice to be reminded.

wanna hear how he proposed? if not, just stop reading because i am about to tell you.

Well, before he proposed we talked about a ring.
i didnt want diamonds and he didnt want to get diamonds.
so that worked out really well.
Instead of him trying to figure out what I wanted he took me to the opal mines in Spencer Idaho. He had driven past the mines a few time on his way to Missoula to visit his sister and had always wanted to stop.
so we went.
and there we so many gems!
green, red, orange, blue, black, white!
i was in heaven.
i picked the opal i wanted, and the band, and we were set.
except, he didnt want to just had it to me.
and i didnt want him to get on one knee.

so one day we went to our "secret spot."
(this used to be his spot, but then he shared it with me, and it became our spot.)
this "secret spot" is in a canyon.
you have to hike down, cross a river by walking across a log, and it opens up to a grassy area with a water fall on each side and an old stone wall. We had made a small dinner before we left (which was really gross, and was my fault.)
We sat on the wall watched the sun set and ate dinner. Then G said "I've got something for you" and he gave me the ring.
boom baby.
engaged.
best way i could ever imagine him proposing.
seriously.

and i am so thankful for his love.

Last night we made this:

Garrett officially starts working the night shift tomorrow night at 11pm.
I have not been looking forward to this because here is a little secret of mine:

i am afraid of the dark.

I know, I know I know, I am 23 almost 24 years old.
Get over it right?
Any ways.
In preparation for being home alone all night I went and bought some night lights.
One has 3 disney princesses on it and the other is just a normal white light.
I also bought some conversation hearts because, well they are one of the best candies around and Valentines day is Thursday which means I wont be able to find these beauties after this week.
And since I was cheating by eating the hearts I figured I might as well get a diet Pepsi while im at it.
As I laid my items on the check out, I could tell by the clerks face that they were going to comment on my purchases.
(which usually makes me uncomfortable any ways, no matter what i am buying)
And then they spoke;
"Let me guess. You have a little one at home who is afraid of the dark?
The princess light is for her room, the white one for the hallway.
The conversation hearts are to get her into bed.
And the Pepsi is because mom has had a hard day?"
Nailed it!
Not.
But i did say, "you are so right!"
They wished me luck and i darted out of there as fast as i could.
Little did they know it was all for me, the 23 year old afraid of the dark.

Also,
We teach the ten year olds at church.
Today one of them pointed out that he is the same height as me.

And
Ive been entering blog giveaways like crazy.
I never win any thing.
Ever.
But I figure I definitely cant win if I dont enter.
Here is to hopeful winning!
(because one of them is for a really cute swimsuit and I can always use a free swimsuit!)

buckwheat sounds like a mean name you would call some one....

we made buckwheat pancakes for breakfast and they were yummy. if you dont eat gluten, i highly recommend them.

i like to think that i am the fabulous red head girl in the leopard print who says, love is "sparkly" and she loves "fur coats."

but really im the blonde girl thats shoving her face full of candy.