New recipe!

So I've had this recipe in my little collection for a while now, but have never made it because I had another chicken tortilla soup recipe that was my go to. But I tell you, once I made it- I'm not sure I'll ever go back to the original!

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 cans Rotel
2 cans Chicken Broth
1 can corn drained
1 can refried beans
2 cans chicken (can be fresh if you want)
1 tsp cumin

Dump it all in a pot and warm it up all together.
Top with tortilla chips, cheese , sour cream and lime juice.

DELISH!!!

I love the fact that it can be a completely food storage meal! Well- except the cheese and sour cream which to me are what makes this dish to die for!

If you make it, I'd love to hear your reactions to it!

Vienna Ball 2010

DISCLAIMER: This post is not meant as a judgement in any way and I hope that no one takes offense. This is simply a record of my experiences.

This past Valentines Day, I went with the studio to the annual Salt Lake Symphony Fundraiser- the Vienna Ball.

And I got more than just an evening of dancing with my studio.

My testimony was strengthened.

I wasn't expecting much to be honest out of the evening. As a matter of fact, I wasn't looking forward to it this year. We'd been getting our clients ready for the ball and had been teaching them all Viennese Waltz for 2 months. To say I was V. Waltzed out was an understatement. Not to mention that two months of V.W. had done a number on my already strained neck. Slowly, as I started getting ready for the evening- and having my hair done, I began to get excited. It was like prom all over again. Only better and with less drama and nerves.

When I came downstairs, Kevin made the comment that my black shrug didn't quite go with the dress and looked kind of off. I told him since the dress was a spaghetti strap- it was either wear the shrug or take off my garments which wasn't an option. His response: You look great!

Now for the back story. There had been a debate for one of our students as to whether or not to wear a dress that was "garment friendly". She was getting a lot of flack and pursuasion from several people that her dress didn't need to be garment friendly. We tried to explain to her new convert boyfriend that we are instructed to only take off our garments for appropriate activities. Which I interpret to mean sporting events or where the garment would be disrespected by becoming severely dirty.

For those of you who aren't LDS and don't know what I'm talking about- garments are symbolic pieces of clothing that members of my church wear after they have gone to our temple. We promise to wear them day and night as a reminder and promise to keep the covenants we make in the temple. Much like a nun or priest wear their religious clothing- we wear the garments under our clothing. If you have more questions I'd be happy to talk to you or you can check out www.lds.org .

Now back to the Ball. I greeted the students as they came in. One by one I saw the women who I knew had been through the temple and should be wearing their garments come in wearing dresses that were not garment friendly. As time went on, and we sat down for dinner, I became more and more self conscious. Hearing Kevin's first words in my head, "The black and the purple dont' go together. It looks a little off." I expressed my discomfort to a friend and she encouraged me that I looked beautiful.

I kept feeling down and somewhat embarrassed. Satan was really doing a number on my brain trying to make me feel uncomfortable. I thought, I'm the only one who didn't take off my garments and had to Jerry Rig my outfit.

And immediately as soon as I thought that, I heard a whispering voice, I kid you not, that said,

"And you're the only one who kept your covenants."

I immediately got over myself and my little pity party and recognized that because of my diligence in keeping my covenants, I will be blessed for it.

For the remainder of the evening- I had a blast. My neck only faltered once, and that wasn't until the end of the evening. I was proud of my students and the hard work they had put in for the previous 2 months to learn this difficult dance.

And I am most grateful for the opportunity to strengthen my testimony and receive confirmation that if you follow the commandments we have been given, we will be blessed for it.

New Studio!

Due to business and spacial issues- BallroomUtah has moved locations.

Our new studio is 3030 South Main Street #200 in South Salt Lake.

It is huge! We have been working on it for about 2 weeks now.

Here are some pictures throughout the progression of construction.

Martin had me put on my shoes to test out a piece of the floor.

His brother in law was busy in the background...

Thomas came to help us too-
His favorite part was riding in the mop bucket.

We have 2/3 of the hard wood floor down. Lucky for us because the move out was quicker than we had anticipated.

Martin is doing a quick mop before opening for business.

Just remember that even in a dance studio, you need to:

Tough guy got a broken toe

He wants a cooler story than just ramming it into the foot of the bed...

Valentines Greetings?

I once read:

“Valentine’s Day was created by greedy executives at greeting card corporations to boost a low first quarter sales trend.”

So that explains all the hype!

We already knew that we didn't need a specific day to tell our loved ones

how we felt because we had 365 days a year to do that.

These greeting card executives inadvertantly created two holidays in one:

Valentines Day and

Singles Awareness Day.

So apparently if you don't have a "Valentine" you are ostracized. LAME!

So I say to one and all:

I will be your Valentine!

All year round!

Love to all!

Rally!

Last Saturday, Kevin and I took Thomas up to the Capital Building to join the rally against the Legislature changing the retirement plan for state employees.

Thomas wanted to see the Lions, and so we let him sit up by them.

He wasn't so sure at first because it was so high up.

But then he chilled out and liked it.

He wasn't too sure about all the people there and the loud music.

But we gave him a rally sign and he liked that. He also liked dancing to the music. I think the lady in the right of the picture taught at one of my old schools. Mrs. Farrer or something? I don't know- I didn't have her. Anyone remember who went to school with me? There were over 4,000 of us there. It was a great turn out.

The speakers were really good.

People don't realize how much police officers, fire fighters, teachers and

janitors do affect our lives.

Thanks to all of you who work hard to make my life what it is!

Room Re-Do

Due to popular demand, here are the before, during and after pictures of the room we overhauled for my mom to stay in.
It was a very plain room without curtains. And just plain neglected to be honest. Plain old white, but it was like primer white. There were gouges in the walls here and there. So my first task was to empty the room of all the junk that had accumulated. (Yard sale come spring!) Next was to fill the holes/gouges and add texture after sanding.

I chose two shades of gray: Burnished Metal and Cathedral Gray. I wanted it to be neutral but not plain. I don't want to have to redecorate/ repaint down the line so I kept it classic. We did the wall opposite of the door the darker of the two grays.

Thomas really wanted to get in on the action. So after we painted around the edges, we let him. He loved it. Such a good helper. Or rather- enthusiastic helper. Yeah, that sounds about right.

We were afraid as we were painting that in the light we were getting, the gray looked LAVENDAR. No joke. And the darker gray looked almost like a light plum. It still seems that way in certain light, but the gray is becoming more and more apparent.

We brought the Cathedral Gray past the wannabe balkhead and into the one side of the closet. I think it looks awesome. Especially with the shelf in the closet white. The contrast made me happy. I love to see the two colors meet and see the juxtoposition.

I'm glad we did it. It was a bit of a pain, but with my loving husband's help, we got it done and it looks great. Mom loved it for the short while she was with us. I hope the next inhabitant likes it as much.

Snippets of sweetness

Last night, I was teaching Kevin how to make my coveted carmel popcorn. (Dangerous.)

As I was explaining stuff to him, Thomas came up inbetween us and the counter with his head tilted back as far as it could go to look at us and said,

"I'm bugging Mamma and Dad."

We immediately burst into laughter.

Wherever he got this from, we have no clue.

Thomas loves watching Little Einsteins on the Disney Channel.

It's fun to see him absorb all the little details...

and even more fun to see what he retains afterwards and puts into action in his own play time.

There was an episode where they went into a cave

and there were bats and spiders.

Ever since he randomly runs to you and yells at the top of his little lungs,

"The bats are coming!"

The look of utter concern on his face breaks my heart.

To sway him away from fear and more toward power, I tell him to tell the bats to go away.

"Go away bats! Go away bats!"

I cheer for him and celebrate that the bats are gone. Triumph!

...Until he comes back minutes later to tell me,

"There are monsters in the forest!"

Zaggie Mug

Well, my Mama got back from her mission this past week. She was serving in the San Bernardino Mission in the mission home/office. She loved every minute of it, but is glad to be home.
I fixed up the junk/craft room for her to stay in until she found an apartment. Will post pictures of that soon.
When she had her welcome home talk in her home ward, the Bishop got up to make remarks after she had finished. He apparently made a slip that Mama says is common, and called her Zaggie Mug. I didn't hear it, but she and the other lady on the stand did.
Mama only stayed with us for a week but Thomas loved every minute of it. The two of them played together for countless hours, giving me a much needed break. Thanks Mom! She made him some sticker books, some puzzles of the Savior with children I had been saving and she and I had designed and made some rockets, planets and space rocks magnets. Thomas is in love! He thinks the world of her.
When we moved her out only a week later, he was not happy. He kept asking if Grandma Maggie would come back. So sad. Break my heart. He is asking me about it right now as a matter of fact.
I am happy that Mom is back, and that Thomas already has such a great relationship with her. We kept talking about her and showing him pictures and praying for her while she was gone so when she showed up at our house he wasn't concerned about the weird lady sleeping in the room next to his. I think it worked. Ha!