We are Sick

We got hit with the flu/cold bug this week. Robert has a nasty cold and he tweaked his shoulder wrong when he slept and is in a lot of pain. I have to flu. Not fun; especially when we had a test today and finals are in three weeks. We have four finals in four days. Yikes. That is a lot. Each final is three hours in length. We type on our computers the whole time. We cannot cheat even though we use computers. We install a program that administers the exam; it locks us out of everything on our computer but the exam. They also video tape the exam to see if anyone if cheating. Personally, I would turn someone in if I saw them cheating.

Mom, Dad, Shaun, Christine, and Grandma and Grandpa are in town. We were supposed to go to MoTab with them tonight, but being sick we decided to stay home and get better so we are not sick for finals. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving.

Pizza

Yummy Finished Pizza

Pizza About to be cooked

Tonight Robert and I had pizza for dinner...homemade pizza. When we were engaged we went to the Smith's house for a couple get together. We played 'Settlers of Catan' and made homemade pizza. I asked Maret for the pizza dough recipe and she gave it to me.

4 1/2 cups flour
1tsp. yeast
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 3/4 cup water

Mix together dry ingredients. Add olive oil and water. I use my Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook attachment to make the dough. After it is moistened I let it continue to mix for about five minutes to knead the dough well. Take the bowl from the mixer and place a clean cloth over it (dish towels work well for this). Let the dough rise for an hour. (hint: yeast needs to be stored in the refrigerator but makes dough rise in warmth. Make sure the water is warm and it will help dough rise faster).

The recipe yields two pizzas. When dough has finished rising, take half the dough and shape it into a pizza (I use a rolling pin because I cannot toss the dough). Then spread with sauce, cheese and toppings. (I use ragu pizza sauce; I also like grating the mozzarella myself, it melts better).

Cook the pizza on 450 degrees until cheese is melted and dough is your preferred crispness.

I use a pizza stone for this. The stone needs to be placed in a cold oven and heated to 450 degrees. I put the stone in when I turn the oven on. I pull the stone out of the over and place the dough on the stone. I add the sauce, cheese, and toppings to it then, then I pop it back into the over. Yuuummmm!! (If the stone is not thoroughly heated the dough will never fully cook)

The dough freezes well. The yeast will still 'work' as long as it is not frozen for a very long time. Just prepare the dough and freeze it in a plastic tupperware. When ready to use remove it and allow it to rise (it will take longer than an hour).

Friday Fun

Our morning classes were cancelled so we went to the Temple and then to our afternoon class (evidence). Robert had to work for a few hours so I made dinner and then went to pick him up. We had spaghetti (yum) and then off to Divine Comedy with the Ellis's. This time they did Nickelcade Royale; it was pretty funny. Then we went to the Ellis's to watch A Man for All Seasons. We have to watch the movie and contrast certain characters for Professional Responsibility. It was pretty fun. We started playing GameCube after the movie and then somehow we started playing the original Nintendo. It was so much fun. Around 1:30 am we came home. I have not stayed up that late in years (okay so probably more like months) and now I am tired today and I have to clean (I love cleaning).

The Rain Continues

So it is still raining but we should have sunshine by Friday. To be honest I love the rain; it reminds me of winter as a child. Growing up in sunny southern California having a rainy day or a rainy week is a treat. But in bitter cold Utah rain in the fall or winter means that if it were cold enough to snow it would :( So rain this week is depressing because we all know the snow will come.
School and homework keep on coming and we are ready for the semester to end so we can move onto new subjects. Anyway, perhaps I'll be a little more up-beat if the sun shines soon. Not much else is happening, which is the way I like it. I have to admit I like the boring life. If life is not boring it usually means the something bad is happening. I love the quiet life.

Rain Rain Go Away!

So today it is raining...a lot. It feels like winter. Sadly, I know winter is only going to get worse when the snow starts (boo to snow). So I am enjoying the rain when I can just stay inside and watch it. It's going to be a long week again. The rest of the weeks of this semester are probably going to be long. Time to start outlining and studying for finals.

Best Brownies Ever (Seriously)

So I am a lurker on the Miss Manners Message Board (lurker = read but don't post). One poster was venting and asking how she could deal with her pain of a MIL (MIL = mother in law). The stories about the MIL are crazy but I will tell the one that involves the brownies. Whenever the poster would make the brownies her MIL would grab a spoon and eat all the topping off of the brownies (double dipping the entire time). This is a 9x13 pan people. So the poster would have to throw away the brownie part of the pan because it had MIL's germs all over the brownies. So she refused to bring it to family functions because MIL would always eat the topping and no one else got brownies. (by the way MIL is used for good MIL's as well; I got a good one :)

Anyway, after several other posters asked for the recipe the OP (original poster) gave it. I was skeptical at first when I saw the ingredients. I like them all but not necessarily together. However, several (like 20) poster made it in the last two weeks and raved about it so I thought I would try it. They are so darn good I can see why MIL wants to eat all the topping. So here is the recipe; and I promise it sounds like a peculiar combination but it is a good one.


One brownie mix (made according to package directions and cooled)

12 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup peanut butter (both kinds work well)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

16 oz Cool Whip (its quicker to get two 8 oz containers)

Mix cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla. Fold in three cups Cool Whip (3 cups = 8 oz). Spread over cooled brownies. Spread remaining Cool Whip on top of peanut butter mixture. Top with chocolate curls, chocolate chips, peanuts, or whatever you wish.

ETA: You can also put the topping mixture into two Oreo Pie crusts and freeze. The mixture never freezes completely solid.

Seriously so good.

Apartment Pictures

So the pictures are finally here. I had a hard time finding the cable that connected my camera to my computer. But I found it. Enjoy!

Just some general views of the apartment.

Just some general views of the apartment.

Just some general views of the apartment.

Kitchen Table all decorated for Halloween.

More Living/Dining Room views.

Kitchen View

More Kitchen Views

More Kitchen Views

More Kitchen Views

More Kitchen Views

More Kitchen Views

Laundry Room (love having this in the apartment).

Bathroom.

Rest of the Bathroom.

The bed in our bedroom; isn't it cute?

I love the curtains in our room!

The Desk in our office/storage room.


The rest of the office/storage room.

Well that is our apartment. It is small but so cute; I don't think we would have time to clean a larger place and do well in school anyway. We are in a basement apartment on Aspen Ave (the tree streets in Provo). The family that owns the house lives above us and they are really nice. They have two golden retrievers who love to bark when we come in the back to go home, but the never bite and love to play. I have to say that I think the kitchen is my favorite room so far (I know that may change when I have kids, job, real life, etc.) It is fun being a newlywed so we are determined to enjoy it.

Halloween Murder Mystery Dinner

Robert and I had a blast at Maret and Logan's "murder mystery" party. Maret goes to law school with Robert and I and is married to Logan; Scott and Elizabeth also go to school with us, they are married; Megan goes to school with us and she is married to Mark. It took place in 1987, right after the stock market crash. I was the daughter of the deceased wall street mogul. Robert was the right hand man of the wall street mogul. Scott and Mark were the sons of the mogul and Maret was the god-daughter. Logan was the mogul's lawyer and Elizabeth was one of the mogul's investors and (gasp) his old flame.

As it turned out we all tried to kill the mogul but Elizabeth was the one that actually did it. It was so much fun. We all brought our favorite appetizers and some candy and had those for dinner. I did get a picture of Robert and I but I was having too much fun to remember to take pictures of the others. We all dressed 80's and in character (be sure to notice my cool side ponytail and Robert's awesome bow-tie).