New Crock Pot Recipe...

Cheesy sour cream crock pot chicken

One bag frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts 3 lbs)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
One container fat free sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese
3 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups crushed cornflakes
4 tablespoons melted butter

Combine frozen chicken, onion, and cream of chicken soup in crock pot.

Cook on high for four hours, or low for eight hours.

Remove chicken.  Shred and set aside.

Strain onions and leftover chicken from crock pot.

Put sour cream and shredded cheese into soup in the crock pot.  Add paprika, salt, and pepper.

In small bowl, mix cornstarch and cold water.  Add to crock pot.  Sir until thickened.

Add chicken to mixture in crock pot.

In small bowl, combine cornflakes and melted butter.  Sprinkle evenly on top of mixture in crock pot.

Cook for another half an hour, while you make rice.

Serve chicken over rice.

Calories:  46/ounce

Nothing New...

Things are pretty much the same right now.  I am subbing a lot at my mom's school.  I am requested pretty regularly there; which is nice because I am getting to know that school, staff, and students really well.  The kids are excited when they see that I am subbing for their teacher for the day.  That makes me happy.

I really miss my friends up in Utah.  I need to plan out a visit.  Unfortunately, time and money would need to be just right for it to happen.  I might be able to do something over the summer, but I would like to see them before that!

My ward is still really small.  I am, once again, a R.S. teacher in the ward.  At least it is a calling that I know well.  I am still just waiting to age out in June; I will figure out where to go next after that.  Hopefully, I can find a good ward with people my age that I can make friends with.  We will see...

The family is doing well.  My grandpa had a health scare a little bit ago involving surgery after having some mini-strokes.  He is doing much better now!  Prayer works!  Danielle is doing well in her nursing program.  Drew is doing the pathways program through BYU.  Michael is trying to apply to local colleges for next fall.  Dad has been very busy with projects at work.  Mom is busy at work as well; in addition to keeping busy with her callings.  Jack is doing great.  He still has massive crazy moments where he just has run around the house and get the crazies out.  His favorite spot to sleep is in my lap when I am sitting on the couch.  He curls up into a little ball.  He is a little big for a lap dog, but I love it!

So, that's it.  I am really grateful to be home for the holiday season.  I am still looking for a teaching job.  That's about it.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Disneyland...

So, I finally broke down and did it.  I bought a Southern California Select Annual Pass to Disneyland.  There are a ton of blackout dates; but those are the days that Disneyland is really crowded and I wouldn't want to be there anyways.  :)  Others in my family are still debating whether or not they will be getting pass; so, as of now, I plan on attending alone.

I had never been to Disneyland alone before.  There are a lot of people who do it, however, and it is supposed to be a new experience and worth it.  So, I did it.  On Tuesday, I went to Disneyland all by myself.  I left around nine in the morning, with the hopes that I would miss the traffic.  So much for that.  I got stuck driving for two hours.  I huge rock also hit my windshield and left a nice big chip in the glass.  Bummer.  But finally, I made it to my destination.

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about going alone.  I had spent all this money on a pass.  What if I didn't enjoy myself?  It was a little weird at first, but I got over it and had a good time.  It did get a little boring in the lines, and I imagine that it would be more fun on slow days when the lines are short.  I did almost everything that I wanted to in Disneyland.  They closed early for a special Halloween party, so I went over to California Adventure.  So did everyone else.  I was only able to do two things there before I realized that I was tired and not interested in standing in a 50-minute line as my last ride.  So, I left and beat some of the traffic leaving the park.  The traffic on the way home was much better and I made good time.

I took some time to reflect on my trip.  I did have a good time and I will be going again, probably next week.  It is more fun with other people; but it was still enjoyable and I talked with some nice people (and listened in on some really weird conversations).  All in all, I would recommend going by yourself at least once.  That said, if anyone is going to be in my area give me a call and I will totally go to Disneyland with you!  :)

Things going too easy? Here! Jump through this hoop!

Last week was a crazy and stressful week!  I had a bunch of stuff that I needed to get done before the end of the month and chose last week to get it all done.  I had called the sub office and found out that I got into the September orientation group and needed to get a TB test done.  I had just received the test in May and it was negative; but I also had a slight reaction that made it hard to read the test.  I have really sensitive skin on my arms, so I was a little concerned.

I called a few places and found a low-cost clinic (because I don't have health insurance right now) in Corona.  I set up an appointment and got the test done.  I had the same reaction that I had in May, except larger.  I went to the clinic a few days later and the doctor barely touched it before telling me that it was positive.  I tried explain about my skin and what had happened in May.  She just said that is wasn't possible, and that this is what it was...positive.  She told me that I needed to get a chest x-ray done and that, because I had tested positive once, I would always need the chest x-ray from now on.  

I was referred to a nearby imaging center and got the x-ray done that day.  I was told that the results would be faxed to the clinic within a few hours and that I could stop by the next day for the results there as well.  I went to the clinic the next day and they said that they couldn't do anything.  I had to wait for a letter from the CDC because that is where my results were sent.  I explained what the imaging center had told me and they finally gave me a paper to sign in order to get my results released.  However, they would tell me what they meant.  I went to the imaging center for their results, just in case they happened to look different...they didn't.

The paper basically listed a bunch of things that they looked at on the x-ray.  Each one said normal, negative, and no abnormalities found.  Sounds good right?  That should be enough?  Well, no where on there did it say "negative for TB."  A rational person could look at the paper and conclude that it means that I am negative; but I doubt that the district will be rational and needs something signed from a doctor.  So, next week I am going to try to go to the clinic again to see if I can get them to sign something.  I would hope that doctor that referred me has enough sense to know what the paper says and can sign my release to work.  I need to get this done before Wednesday!  I can't wait for something from the CDC, if that is even coming.  If anyone has experience with this, I would appreciate your input.  So stressful!

The other thing that I had to do this week was register my car in California.  I went to AAA to get this done.  I couldn't make myself go back to the DMV.  When I went there for my new license the lines were huge, everything was complicated, I had to take a test, and I caught a cold.  AAA was still busy, but I got in pretty quick.  The lady who helped me seemed nice, but was also a little condescending.  She also had no idea how to do an out-of-state transfer.  There was some sort of suspension that she needed help to get around (I think it was from when I first got the car, because I didn't send in insurance information--I was registering it somewhere else anyways and, when I looked it up, it said that it was no longer active).  Then she said that my car was classified as a truck and that I needed to get it weighed; and she wanted to mark it as a commercial vehicle.  Ummmm, my CAR is NOT a TRUCK.  It's a CAR!  Then she said that because Utah didn't put print my name on the registration they couldn't just believe that I was the owner.

Let me explain.  When I bought my car I didn't have a strong credit history.  So, my parents went with me to their bank and they co-signed a loan with me.  Everyone listed on the loan would have their credit scores helped every time that I made a payment.  Technically, we were all registered owners of the car.  When I moved to Utah, the DMV there listed my name third in the computer.  When my registration printed, I wasn't even on it.  I was listed as "et al"  or "and others."  AAA didn't want to accept that.  They either wanted the title with my name on it (which I couldn't get because the bank still holds the balance of my loan), or have my parents sign this registration form.  I didn't want to have to do this for two reasons:  first, I didn't want to have to come back to AAA (I wanted to finish everything); second, I was the registered owner!  

I went home and had my parents sign the stupid form.  I also had my mom go with me to the bank and we got a print out that showed all three names on the loan.  She also went with me to AAA, just in case.  First, we went and got my car weighed at a horse-supply store.  The guy there said that it was stupid and that it clearly wasn't a truck.  My dad said that obviously someone wasn't thinking and made a mistake.  I didn't want to take any chances.  I just wanted to get it registered.  So, back to AAA I went.  It wasn't as busy this time; and a different person helped me.  I decided to not say anything about the weight thing and let her judge for herself.  She inspected my car and listed it as a car on the form.  I didn't have to get it weighed after all.  There were no problems.  She had me pay the fee, turn over my Utah plates and gave me a tool to put the new CA plates on.  So, that is officially finished!

It doesn't seem like that much looking at it now, but in the moment it seemed like way too much to handle.  The TB test still is too much for me right now.  Just one more hoop to jump through before I can start working again.  This a highly contagious disease, I would like to think that the doctors would take the time to explain things like results!  Whatever.  Here's to hoping that I can get a normal doctor that know me really soon!

Southern California...

It has been a while since my last post.  In fact, at the time of my last post I was still in Utah.  I moved back to California in June, right after the school year ended.  My Dad came up and he, along with a lot of the really great friends that I had made while living in Utah, came and loaded my stuff on a trailer.  I had expected my Dad to leave Sunday, but he ended up leaving the same day and driving all the way back to California.  Crazy.

As soon as I got home I was thrown into helping get things ready for my sister's wedding.  It was a lot more work than I had imagined, and I only came in on the tail end of it.  The day before, we went to the church to decorate.  Luckily, Danielle and Drew had some awesome friends who had a lot of experience decorating those types of buildings.  They did the brunt of the work.  It ended up looking really nice.  The actual day of the wedding was so hot.  It was over 106 in Redlands that day.  People were melting during pictures.  There are many interesting stories to tell about the actual day.  Unfortunately, I can't share the really good ones because the people involved would know how rude they were being...and then it would get all awkward.

Overall, the day was really nice.  The most important thing is that Danielle and Drew thought everything was wonderful.  I was so exhausted by the end of the day.  I pretty much spent the whole day on my feet running around and trying to help people get things done and making sure that Danielle could go to the bathroom and eat and things like that.  We took a ton of pictures and, if you are friends with me on Facebook, you can see a lot of the non-professional ones that were taken.  Danielle and Drew spent a few days on mini-honeymoon and then moved into my parent's house with the rest of us.  They went on a real honeymoon cruise, to St. Thomas, in August.  They had a lot of fun and ate a ton of weird food that I wouldn't never try...ever.

While they were gone, my Mom and I both got sick with a cold.  It is one of those awful ones that leaves you exhausted.  I have been going pretty crazy being stuck inside all day.  I am still sick, but I am over the worst of it.  I hope.  As soon as Danielle and Drew got back, they immediately got sick as well.  Danielle blames me, but she started feeling sick in Florida; so there is no way she can blame it on me.  ;)

Anyways, I am still looking for work.  I have applied to a substitute, but I haven't heard anything yet.  It is a very frustrating position to be in.  I want to work, but there is so much competition.  I received a rejection email that said that they had received over 500 applications.  Unless I get some sort of miracle, the only way I will get a full-time position is if I can get a long-term sub job and become well know or if I get hired once the year already starts.  I will take anything at this point.  I don't know what else I could do at this point.  My friend, and former co-worker Shannon, said it best.  "I have educated myself into a corner."  She makes a great point.  As teachers, we have a specialized license in one area.  If that one area is flooded with a ton of people looking for work, it is almost like winning the lottery when you actually get called for an interview.  So, I keep praying and hoping that something will happen.

As far as the other areas of my life goes, I have started attending my former single's ward.  It was the same one I left when I moved to Utah.  Except now I don't know any of the people in it.  Everyone seems really young and it is even smaller than the ward that I left.  One of the counselors asked me how long I planned to be in the ward.  I told him that I planned to be there until June 22, 2014.  That is when I turn 31 and can no longer attend a singles ward.  There aren't really any mid-singles ward where I live, so I will have to go back to my parents ward after that happens...with my parents and my married younger sister and her husband.  I am sort of hoping that I can at least get a job somewhere by that point so that I can go to a separate ward.

So, that is it.  No other updates for now.  I miss my friends and co-workers, who became friends, in Utah like crazy.  I think about you guys all of the time!  I will post when I have more news.