Happy Birthday Seany Bear

Sean is my older brother. Today would be his 25 birthday. I never knew him here on earth, he passed away a year before I was born. I'm sure he was great and that we would have been good friends throughout this life. I can't wait to meet you Sean, I hope you are having a good birthday in Heaven.

Love your little sister,
Courtney

This is a picture of my friend's niece Gracie:

Gracie was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and is very very sick. She is 11 months old and just last week had a heart transplant. She is not recovering and her body is rejecting her new heart. Please pray for the Gledhill Family, Gracie, and her Doctors that they might know what steps to take from here and that they will be at peace with whatever God has in store for this sweet little baby Gracie. You can read her story here.

I don't think it's fair that some people have to see their children suffer, and sometimes continue to live life without them.

From drab to fab

We were very lucky to receive a ton of hand-me-down furniture when we got married. Some of these things looked awesome with the finishes they came with, others were a little dated and boring. So I've been a-painting and I'm thrilled with how things are turning out.

Here is my little sister's desk that I still use. It was fine but nothing special:

Then I got my hands on it

And now it is AWESOME!

Thank you ever so much Anthropologie for providing me with these fabulous vintage looking knobs. I am in love.

It shouts "Courtney!" doesn't it?

When we move I'll be putting a painted vintage mirror above it and make it into a fantastic vanity. I'm still deciding on a fabric to recover the chair cushion with. I'll post pictures of the finished trio.

Strawberry Jam

Here is my favorite Strawberry Jam recipe. I am kind of a food snob and am really picky, after making this I can't eat store bought jam anymore. I hope you all love it that much too! I make this jam about twice a year and store it in our freezer. It is a great topper for all your traditional jelly foods. I like to make toast with a little cream cheese and this on top for extra goodness. You can also add some water and simmer it to make a yummy strawberry syrup for your favorite breakfast treats. For the bread recipe visit Be Healthy, Be Happy.

Remember that when making jams and jellies that you shouldn't double the recipe. Make two separate batches if you need more than one batch provides.

Ingredients:

2 pints of strawberries that are washed, hulled and blended or purred in a food processor
4 cups sugar
1 box Sure-Jell Fruit Pectin for homemade jams and jellies (this needs to be exact or it will turn out runny)
3/4 cup water
washed and rinsed containers to hold jam

To Make:
Measure exactly 2 cups or pureed strawberries in a bowl. Stir on sugar. In a small sauce pan combine pectin and water. Turn burner on high and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Continue to stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir pectin into fruit. Keep stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour into containers leaving 1/2 inch space at the top for expansion during freezing. cover containers and let them stand at room temperature for 24 hours until they set. Store in freezer for up to one year or in your refrigerator for one month. Thaw in the fridge.

Josh is the luckiest man alive

Because I know you were all wondering about this, I thought I'd let you know that
this was the lingerie I brought to Vegas for Valentine's:

Oh how I wish you all could have seen the look on Josh's face when he saw me in this! It was one of pure disgust. I was getting out of the bath and noticed this sexy little number hanging in the closet off the bathroom. I decided it was too good to pass up and had to put it on to give my husband a thrill. Thanks Grandma Rita for leaving your mumu jumper in Vegas, it provided me with much entertainment. Sometimes I think (and I am the only person who thinks this) that I am the funniest person alive.

Goodbye Goldilocks

This is what I did yesterday at work. It makes me sad but it needed to be done. Gosh, in the past two months I have cut 10 inches off my hair and dyed it dark. Both of these choices were made with a future goal in mind. I want my hair to be as long, healthy and beautiful as it was for my wedding. Hopefully by the end of the year I will be able to work my way back to blonde. Wish me luck!

Viva Las Vegas

Josh and I decided to go to Vegas for the long weekend. It is rare that we go on trips alone together so we thought we'd take this opportunity and do it. It was awesome! We packed up and left after Josh got home from work on Friday. The drive was easy and we arrived Friday night at about 10. We went straight to the strip and enjoyed shopping and people watching. Las Vegas has a lot of really bad, ugly things going on but it also has some amazing architecture and interior design. We really took notice of that this trip.

This is one of the entrances to Caesar's Palace

I wish I had taken more pictures of the ceilings, I only got a few that I loved. Here is one at the Polasso.

On Valentine's Day Josh and I went on a run. It was so fun to do it together. We rarely run together because he is so much faster than I am. When we finished he ran out to get milk and came back with a beautiful Orchid plant for me! I told him a long time ago that instead of roses I wanted an Orchid for our house.

That afternoon we got Thai massages that were pretty awesome. I have been so tense and achy from training so it was just what I needed. It is amazing how strong these tiny little Thai girls are. She dug into me until I was about to cry. I almost passed out from the pain one time (I know that sounds ridiculous but I'm completely serious). I got super light headed and dizzy but then I came to it again. I thought I was going to die during the process but after I was glad I did it. I immediately felt better after and I was so happy to be able to walk around without my shoulders being up by my ears. Josh loves Thai massage. No one else can put enough pressure on him to make it effective and he enjoyed his experience.
After our massages we went to dinner at the Venetian's Canaletto. It was delicious and the perfect Valentine dining experience.

Sunday morning we headed to the Hoover Dam and got some yummy breakfast at Mel's Diner in Boulder. We had never been so it was quite the experience. It is absolutely enormous! The Dam is almost 800 feet high and is 660 feet wide at its base. Josh marveled at the engineering involved and I was terrified of the height.

He couldn't resist looking over the edge.

This is the view from the top of the dam. They are building a bridge that will be well over 1000 feet above ground when it is complete. It was incredible seeing it in the process of being built. Try to find the arches that have been started in the middle of he picture below. Right now they are being held up by cables. I wish you all could see it because this picture so does not do it justice.

A picture of me in Arizona, taken by Josh who was standing in Nevada.

This is just blocks away from our town house. We were so excited, three of our favorite things to eat all in a row! What a happy, happy day!

We enjoyed a New York original and he best pizza in the world, Grimaldi's. We were seated right by the kitchen so we were able to watch them toss the dough and make our delicious food.

Then we headed to Nielson's Frozen Custard. If you have never had this, you must. It is the tastiest, smoothest treat ever! It is a Utah original and no one will ever be able to make frozen custard better than Nielson's. Please make your way to Utah, Nevada, or Virginia and get yourselves a concrete from Nielson's.

Sunday night we headed back to the strip to enjoy some more of the pretty things it has to offer. The Bellagio Hotel is our very favorite. It is so beautiful inside and out. This is my favorite ceiling in all of Vegas:

It took the artist 2 years to blow all of these. AMAZING! I want my house to have a room that is covered in these. Don't they just make you happy?
We also had to visit the garden room. It had a red Chinese theme this time and it was so beautiful.

I loved these blue blown glass bamboo shoots.

And of course we had to watch the water show. It is one of the best things on the strip and it's free so why not?

Thank you Joshua for such a fantastic weekend. It was so fun to play with you and to not have to answer to anyone but each other. I love you.

Enjoy this clip of the water show!

My Funny Valentine

I was so happy to have this guy be my Valentine on Saturday:

I'm excited he'll be my forever Valentine.

I miss my other Valentines:

Joshua Ray, Daddy, Mama, Chris, Mari, Lindsay, Patrick, Luke, and Ashley I love you and I hope you had a fantastic Valentine's Day. I miss you all!

Offspring

Two Healthy Sisters present: Be Happy, Be Healthy.
Mari and I have decided to start a new blog to help each other stay motivated, happy and healthy. We will be focusing on mental, physical, and spiritual health. We will be sharing recipes, exercises, and things that inspire us to be our best selves. Living several states away from each other we can't do these things in person, so we thought this would be a great option for us. We are happy to help each other reach our fitness and life goals. Here are some things you might find on our blog:

Inspiring reads

Tasty and HEALTHY recipes

And workouts that work for us (I didn't have a picture of me really working out, so one after will have to do)

Princess Pretty Feet

(My Uncle Richard used to call us all Princess Pretty Feet when we were little.)

Calling all clients! I am now doing gel nails, which I am surprisingly excited about. My favorite kind to do is glitter. It is so smooth, sparkly and I like them better than acrylic! They aren't as hard to remove as acrylic nails and it is super easy to change colors. They are also cheaper than acrylic, $28 solo service and $20 as an add on service. These are awesome for spring and summer. I can customize a color, just for you. The color I'm wearing right now is called Valentine.

Freaking Awesome.

For some reason I can't put pictures on here right now. So for now you get these freaking awesome videos of us playing Wii hula hoop. Be sure to check out my hot outfit.

I don't know what the deal is but I can't rotate these either. I don't know about this new computer.

This could be fun

My sister-in-law has this on her blog, and in order for me to win some curiously awesome prize from her..I must do this too! (one must give to recieve) I normally don't do this stuff, but I think this could end up pretty funny!

Here it is. and I plan on carrying this through. Lucky you! The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year. {might be a little while}
4. You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or maybe even some creation I haven't even invented yet (but Heaven knows it will most likely be super shiny or look like it got attacked by a bedazzler). I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch?

Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

* * *Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!***

Asher Balls and Day Dreamers

In the past two days Josh and I have both been able to view two of our very favorite TV programs ever, the Superbowl and The Bachelor. Oh the difference between men and women.

The only time you'll see my husband make anything other than eggs or a sandwich is on Superbowl day. Josh is known in his group of friends as "Asher". One year he created a recipe for meatballs and brought his concoction to the Superbowl party he attended annually. They were a hit and were automatically named "Asher Balls". It has become a yearly tradition that he makes his meatballs for this party. Here he is at work:

A horrible picture of the final result:

We always watch the game in Brett's theater, the seating is cozy.

Half time was spent playing arcade games.

And everybody was thrilled toward the end of the game when something good happened (that is all I know, maybe Josh should explain what this thing was).

AAAWWWWEEEEE, The Bachelor. I LOVE this show. I know that only one out of ten couples have actually made it, the show is so produced and dramatic, and half the contestants are crazy but I still love it. I wish I could watch it every day. I am so embarrassed at how much I enjoy, and think about, this show. It is pathetic, I know.
This is what my house looks like at 8:00 on Monday nights:

Last night Brooke, Rebecca, Rachel and Seth came over for two hours of pure entertainment. I am so glad that last week Jason finally got rid of Shannon (psycho veneer girl) and Megan (the beast). Last night I was sad to see Stephanie go home. I thought he made the right choice but I was sad for her. I hope she finds someone wonderful who will love her and her little girl. I haven't made up my mind on who I am rooting for. I really like Molly, Jillian, and Melissa. I can't wait to see what happens! See, told you...obsessed.

House Plant

So Chris and I lived together when we were going to college. We were pretty good at keeping our house clean, organized, and well stocked with food...at least that's what I thought. Then one day I found this in our cupboard:

It's a potato tree and it became our house plant for about a week. After a week of people coming to see our potato-turned-moose I decided to dispose of the thing.