- See more at: http://blogtimenow.com/blogging/make-blogger-blog-mobile-friendly-redirect-mobile-users/#sthash.E52uouQz.dpuf The Bomans: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

Nasty Headache and a General Conference Reminder...

Hello everyone, I have a nasty headache (hence today's title). But I am also very happy because tomorrow is a very exciting day. If you did not know already, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints holds a General Conference twice yearly, once in April and once in October, where members and non-members are all invited to participate and listen to the words of the prophet. I look forward to this time of year so much and I make every effort to watch this glorious conference.

Our Latter Day Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson.

 "Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same."   
                                                                                                                      D&C  1:38

The Lord still speaks to his servants, the Prophets. I am so anxious to hear what will be said.

Hope you all had a great Friday and enjoy your General Conference weekend!

For more information on General Conference click here
To watch it live click here
To listen to a live feed click here.
To learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints click here. (Or email us at losboman@gmail.com, we would be happy to answer any of your questions.)


image from en.wikipedia.org

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Forget Not


I loved this talk by President Uchtdorf and found this darling handout on Sugardoodle. Head over here to grab one for yourself! Makes for a great daily reminder.

I hope you are all having a great day! 


Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Things that make me happy...

Left to right:Tasha, Amy, Sara, Emma, Molly, Hannah, Kelley, and my cute Mom on the bottom.

I recently received an email from Tasha with this picture attached. It made me so happy! These beautiful ladies are all of my sisters and my sweet Mom on our trip to Washington DC for Kelley's graduation (May  2010). I said "all" but we are missing Heidi who could not make it. And my lovely Nanny (grandma) came as well and was the one who took the picture. We had so much fun on our all girl vacation. I am so glad that we were able to do this because I am not sure when we will all be able to get together again. But like Hannah said in an email, I am so glad that this life is not the end and that one day we will all be together forever. I am grateful for this knowledge. Oh, I do love these girls!

Also, to all of my "other" sisters out there, I hope you had a chance to watch the General Relief Society Broadcast Saturday. I was at working at the computer lab but was able to sneak in some headphones and watched it online. It was a wonderful hour and a half and the words spoken were very much needed. If you didn't have a chance to see it, I have good news! Click here to watch and read highlights or for the complete archives of the conference click here.

The Conference Center for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City, UT.

One more very good news: General Conference is on its way! (Saturday and Sunday, October 1 and 2, 2011)  Click here for more information.

Have a great day! 

Conference Center picture taken from here.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Yes, I Am Still Here.

Busy, busy, busy. It has been a not stop flow of homework, studying for exams, preparing a talk for Sacrament Meeting, and trying to keep up with everyday things here at home. I have just been taking it a day at a time and trying not to get overwhelmed.

I am so lucky to have such a sweet husband by my side every day. He helps me so much. When I am too busy to cook, he brings me lunch. When I am tired, he runs his fingers through my hair. When I run out of time in the morning, he drives me  to class. etc. etc. etc. 

On Sunday, which is my favorite day of the week by far, Sage read me Little Women while I cooked dinner. And today he washed all of the dishes before he went to class so that I would have one less thing to do when I came home.

Yes, life is very busy right now. But I could not be happier. 


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Acorns and Other Such Things

First, you are all probably dieing to know how the baby shoes turned out. So I will tell you. Last night I made one but it was just not looking right. The top of the shoe was puckering up funny and I didn't like it so this morning I tried again. I was trying to make a nice finish on the raw edges of the fabric last night and should have followed this great tutorial on Bias Tape (from my favorite blog)  but didn't and am pretty sure that is why it was puckering the way it did. Anyways, today I ended up just folding the top over and stitching all the way around which looked pretty good. I also remembered to sew in the strap which I forgot to do last night. The one shoe I made this morning looks very cute. Now I just need to make another one and snap a picture of it to share with you. 

After I made my shoe I went up to campus to have lunch with Sage. We had yummy pizza leftovers (we make this quite often) and then went off to class. I have one class from 1:30-2:45 and another one from 3:30-4:20. I completely forgot about my later class today. Probably because I don't have it on Thursday when I only go to my 1:30 class but whatever the reason, I just didn't go. It is my Chemistry class which is not a good one to miss so wish me luck on the upcoming test! (yikes....)

On a happier note, Sage and I had a great time on campus (while I was supposed to be in class) just passing time until I had to go to work. We found a cute little spot next to Old Main that we plan to have lunch at sometime. It is a secluded picnic spot with bright robins egg blue tables and chairs. Loved it.

This is Old Main for those who have never been to Utah State University.


Then we went and walked around Old Main Hill which was very relaxing. It is nice to just take a break sometimes and enjoy life. We love the trees on campus and I have a new desire to learn the names of all the trees on this hill. We felt like little kids walking on the fallen pine cones and wanting to bad to climb up a tree. We will probably be going back some evening to try that :)

On the way to work we stopped at a beautiful oak tree which I had never looked closely at even though it is in the middle of campus. There were cute little fallen acorns covering the ground around the tree. Sage and I got talking and wondered, "can we eat acorns?" We were not sure, so I did some research at work and found some interesting things.

White Oak Acorn


First: I am pretty sure the tree we found was a White Oak. I compared the leaves and the acorns to some information on the Internet and it looks the same.

Second: Yes, people can eat acorns if they prepare and cook them properly. I found this very interesting, and useful web page that has more information than I could post about so I will just provide the link here.This woman has done quite a bit of research and has provided instructions for preparing and cooking acorns, as well as some fun recipes I would like to try. I am excited about trying the bread recipe and am intrigued by acorn cheese cake.

Third: I hope that you had just as great of a day as I did and if you try one of the acorn recipes please share your comments below.

Thanks for stopping by!

*DISCLAIMER: I am not an acorn expert. I found this information after a small amount of research. There are many people for an against eating acorns. If you choose to eat an acorn you are at your own personal risk. Do your own research and then make a decision. DO NOT put your trust in me on this one. I plan to do some more research myself as well. That's all. Have a great day!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Feeling Creative

Today has been a great day! I was on time to all of my classes except one... (7:30 is so hard for me) Stayed awake in every class (it was difficult) and learned some fun things. I am really enjoying this semester. For those of you who don't know, I am studying Family and Consumer Science Education which will license me to teach middle school-high school home economics classes. Very fun degree! I am taking a food literacy class where I spend 3 hours every Friday evening in a lab learning how to cook! We learned what a roux is and how to make it, basic sauces and soups today. I am also in a Chemistry class (learning about the periodic table right now) a Marriage and Family Relationships class, an Interior design class and my very favorite..... Sewing! (it is actually called basic clothing construction) By far the best class I have every had. I love learning with my hands and that is what this class is all about. I learned how to thread and use a serger in class today which was difficult but I will keep practicing at it. 

This Last Christmas, Sage gave me a darling Bernina Sewing Machine (found at Deseret Industries and fixed by his dad). And today I was feeling rather creative and really wanting to sew something. So I dusted off Bernina, threaded her up, and looked through my patterns.


 I got this pattern on sale at Jo Anns this summer and decided to give it a try today. So far I have only cut out and pinned the fabric together but I will sew them up as soon as my honey wakes up from his nap. I shoes I am making will look similar to the blue and pink one in the picture (middle row, right column). I wish I had a camera and could take step by step pictures as I go along but maybe I can get someone to take a picture of the finished product for me so I can show everyone. I am using sage green and white stripped fleece for the main part of the shoe and some dark brown leather-look-a-like for the strap. I think I might sew a tiny R and L on the bottom of each shoe out of that same leather-look-a-like fabric. Maybe... we will see.

Well, back to my project I go. Have a great day!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

My Love


This is me and my love outside the Logan Temple the day we were sealed. We met exactly one year ago to the date on the day this picture was taken. He is my very best friend and the person who makes me the happiest. I love being his wife. Here are  a few reasons why....


This picture is of Sage the day we got engaged. He is so cute to always give me flowers. Maybe a week or so after we started dating he picked a little white rose for me out of his moms flower bed and put it in my hair.  No one had ever done that for me before! So I saved it to better remember that day.


Sage can dance! I always hoped I would marry a man who could dance. We did a lot of dancing while we were dating. I am not a great dancer by my self but I quickly learned to follow his lead. One day after we were married I was having a bad day. As I was doing dishes, Sage turned on our favorite song (All the Pennies by Mindy Gledhill) and danced around the kitchen with me. I was instantly put into a better mood.

 
Sage is silly. A day has not got by where he has not made me laugh. I remember someone telling me that same thing about her own husband before we were married and how grateful she was for that. I share that feeling. It is so fun being married to someone you can laugh with.



Isn't that dimple cute? I absolutely adore this man. And I love that he loves me as well. I hope that after reading this you have thought about that special person you love (a spouse, roommate, friend, dog, etc.) and some of the reasons why they make you so happy. And I hope those happy thoughts help you have a great day.

Thanks for visiting!

Friday, September 16, 2011

Friday Favorites

One of my good friends (check out her cute blogs here and here) posted her Friday Favorites today and I thought I would quickly name a few of mine as well. (Thanks Randi for the great post idea!)

#1 Being married to Sage.
#2 Watching Sage zoom down the hall in the Engineering Building late at night on a chair with wheels. (I love seeing him so happy. And I love that he will come be with me on my late work nights at the computer lab.)
#3 Logan weather cooling down. (I love Autumn!)  
#4 Hanes Socks. They are so think and soft and keep my toes nice and toasty.
#5 And leftover pizza for lunch. 

Wish I could post more but I have LOADS of homework to do. Hope you had a great day enjoying your own Friday Favorites. :)

*Leave a message in the comment box sharing your number one favorite thing about this Friday.

Oh and one more favorite: We have a new and improved button!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Busy Days

Our days have been very busy lately. And on some of our busiest days, meals have been quite tricky to put together. We are both full time students and I work in between classes and sometimes late into the evening. There is always homework to be done as well as everyday chores around the house. But we still need to eat. So what have we been doing? Hello, Crock Pot!


This beautiful kitchen masterpiece has been a great help on those very busy days. Potato Chowder last week and Taco Soup today. Here is the VERY easy recipe:

Crock Pot Taco Soup
Servings: A lot. It fills our whole 6 quart crock pot almost completely and will feed us for several meals.
Cook Time: Depends on how soon you want to eat it!

Ingredients:
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can pinto beans
- 1 can kidney beans
- 1 can whole kernel corn
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 package taco  seasoning
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1-2 cans water (Depends on how thick you want it. I sometimes will not even put a whole can in)
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Brown ground beef over medium heat, drain excess fat. Add meat, diced onions, seasonings and everything in the cans (including water/juice) and how ever much extra water you want to your Crock Pot. Cook on high for 2-4 hours or low for 6-8. (Or however long you want it to cook! If you want it ready in less than 4 hours I would put it on high but for anything more than that, low would probably suffice. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream and eat with tortilla chips. Great meal for a busy day!

(I have also made this in a large stock pot on the stove. Directions are the same but cook time is lowered to about half an hour of low simmering over medium heat.)

PS. I only know a few crock pot recipes but am looking for more. If you have one that your family likes and would like to share I would LOVE to try it!

Have a great day!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Life on a Budget

As a newly married couple, Sage and I are living on a budget. Okay, we don't actually have anything written down on paper. Our budget is pretty much just to spend as little as we can right now. And we have been doing very well at that.

We buy the majority of our books used on amazon.com. Sometimes we don't even get the most current edition. (saving so much money!)


We try to drive as little as possible tying to save money on gas, and save the world of course. We are very luck to live close enough to all of the essentials: bank, grocery store, campus, church and the temple.


We always pay tithing first. (our secret to success)


And we are trying to cook with minimal/inexpensive (and healthy) ingredients. And we have enjoyed the blessing of having a garden full of fresh produce in our backyard. (We love gardens and will be planting one in the next home we live.) We do most of our shopping at Smiths but look for coupons anywhere. (Smiths has a great rewards program. Check it out!)

Last night I was not feeling super excited to cook because I had not planned anything in advance. (planning out meals is a great way to reduce stress at meal time, the amount of groceries you buy, and helps you get a variety of good foods into your families diet.) I had decided upon tomato soup and grilled cheese because they were all things we had on hand. But I tried to spice it up a bit to so that my honey would like it better (he is not the biggest fan of plain tomato soup). I added a little bit of sauted onions and some fresh, cut up cherry tomatoes (from the garden), a little bit of lemon juice, a small amount of whipping cream, and some dried basil. Mmm. Then I sauted some zucchini and carrots (from the garden) and half a can of corn. Made the grilled cheese and served it with some raspberries (garden) and a few slices of a peach. My lazy, not wanting to cook attitude was quickly replaced by a creative "how can I make this simple meal exciting" attitude which was very fun. I have been learning about garnishes in one of my classes in school and practiced on this meal with a little parsley in the soup and a cherry tomato in the middle of tiny triangle sandwiches arranged neatly on a plate. With little cost, a small amount of effort and garnishes we had a great meal together. I love being creative and thrifty at the same time.

Have a great day and go save some money :) 

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Hawaiian Haystacks


A family favorite from my sweet mom. (these are the topping our family likes)

Ingredients:
- Chicken (3 breasts & 4 thighs)
- 1 large can (or 2 small cans) cream of chicken soup
- 2 cups white rice
- chinese fried noodles
- sliced tomatoes
- sliced green onions
- shredded cheddar cheese
- crushed pineapple, drained
- shredded coconut

Direcitons:
In a large stock pot boil chicken in water. SImmer about 1 hour. Remove chicken. Cool and remove meat from bones. Set aside. Cook rice in 4 cups chicken stock for 20 min. Heat soup and add chicken. Add milk until desired consistency. Serve over rice and top with topping!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Garden Pizza


If you choose to omit the garden vegetables when you make this yourself then just call it Pizza. (Or yummy pizza, or yeast-free pizza crust pizza, or Emma's Favorite Pizza recipe, etc.)

The Crust: Makes one medium-large pizza. (Fits on the standard pizza stone.)
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I use 2 cups white and 1/2 cup wheat)
- 2 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. oil
- 3/4 to 1 cup water

Directions: Mix dry ingredients, add 3/4 cup water and oil. Stir until in forms a ball. If dough is stiff add more water. If dough is too sticky, add more flour (but not too much because it will make it difficult to roll out). The dough will be soft, not sticky. Knead on a floured surface for 3-4 min. Place on preheated pizza stone*. (careful, HOT!) Top with sauce and favorite toppings. Bake @ 400 degrees F for 15-25 min.

*A pizza stone helps the dough to cook evenly but any other pizza making sheet will do, or make it a square pizza and bake it in a deep cookie sheet.

Sauce: Here is what I do but you can use any pizza sauce and it would be just fine. I just eyeball it and do a lot of taste testing. I use maybe 1 1/2 cup pasta sauce (I have never measured it out) and then add more seasoning. That is the main difference between pasta and pizza sauce, the flavor intensity. I add oregano, onion powder and garlic powder. Be creative and use the spices your family likes.

Assembly: I first spread around the sauce, then I top it with cheddar cheese (what we have on hand, but mozzarella would be just as great), peperoni, jalapenos, thinly sliced zucchini (if we have some), fresh tomatoes slices, pineapple (leftover from Hawaiian Haystacks, a great way to use up those toppings!), and sliced green onions (also Haystack leftovers). I have put sliced yellow onions on it before as well as sliced green pepper. Anything would taste delicious. I top it all off with a little bit of Parmesan cheese.

Cucumber Lemonade


Prep/cook time: 45-50 min
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 cucumber sliced
- 6 lemon's juiced, (I didn't have fresh lemons so I used about 1 cup of the store bought juice.)

Directions:
Make a simple syrup by stirring the water and sugar together in a saucepan over medium heat; heat until just about to boil and the sugar has dissolved. Place in refrigerator 30 min, or until cool. Place the cucumber slices in a blender or a food processor; blend until mashed into a pulp. Pour the cucumber pulp into a fine mesh strainer placed over a bowl to catch the liquid; allow to sit until you have about 2/3 cup of liquid from the cucumber, about 15 min. Stir the simple syrup, cucumber liquid, and lemon juice together in a pitcher. Serve cold.

*The recipe did not say anything about adding more water but we did. It was a bit to concentrated for the Boman's.

Recipe from allrecipes.com

I am back

It sure has been a while but I am back and ready to keep sharing recipes. Life has been very busy the past couple of weeks and I have just not had the time to post all of the yummy recipes we have been enjoying. But I have so many I want to share. Instead of posting them all right here, I have linked the recipe name to another page where you can read it in full. Sound good? Here we go!

Sage introduced this drink to me after we were given several cucumbers from his grandparents. Yes, I did say drink and cucumbers in the same sentence. I was not sure if I would like it, actually it didn't sound good at all, but I tried it and was proven wrong. We both agree that cucumber lemonade is one of the most refreshing drinks we have ever had. We will be making that one again for sure.

This recipe has been named Garden Pizza. We have made it a few times and last nights version was the best, and also the version behind the name. We included fresh zucchini and garden tomatoes in with all of our other favorite pizza toppings. And the crust is yeast-free which makes for a fast dinner when time is limited.

My mom makes an excellent Rhubarb Crisp and has shared her recipe with me. If you have never had a rhubarb crisp go ahead and try it.

"Out of this World Rolls" recipe was given to me by one of Sage's sweet aunts. And let me tell you, they are what they are called. This last time I made them I used unbleached flour instead of the bleached stuff I had previously used and I left them to rise a little bit longer than normal but whatever the cause, they were HUGE! and very yummy. Making them is fun as well. The dough is so soft. This is a must try. Enjoy!

We have a lot of zucchini. Here is another well loved recipe from my mom. Zucchini Casserole.

Lasagna. (also from my mom)

I have been asked to cook sever dinners for new mom's in our ward and this is the most recent meal I have made. Hawaiian Haystacks (mom's recipe). I choose this one because it makes a lot and I didn't have time to cook two meals, one for then and one for us. And it is very yummy and the toppings can be personalized to what your own family likes.

Corn bread and Chili. (bread is from my mom and the chili is from me)

That is all for now. Stay tuned for our Labor Day meals and treats!

{Links are in the making}