red rocks, blue sky

i just can't get enough of the beautiful scenery in southern utah. the red slick rock against the perfect blue sky unadulterated by smog and pollution. i could take pictures all day!

cowboy up moab style

it's been years since i've been on a horse and i am by no way experienced in equestrian matters. i've had a couple scary incidences involving horses that make me keep my distance a bit, though i wish i had a horse to ride and brush and take care of. anyhoo. we're in moab for the weekend and thought a little horseride would be fun. this morning chris and i headed over to the red red cliff lodge where our reservations were. we, along with about 10 other folks saddled up {or had the ranch hands saddle up} the horses and we went through a crash course of steering and controlling this huge animal. chris, mister cowboy was an obvious natural and was put on top of a dark brown horse named thunder and i was paired up with a sandy colored horse named sundance {as in butch cassidy and the sundance kid}. there was another horse named butch and my horse kept his head constantly in butch's butt the entire time. it was very apparent i had absolutely no control over sundance and he followed butch everywhere he went. it was hilarious.

we rode for about three hours all over the pretty red rock country. the sun was shining and it was warm. the pace was super slow so we had plenty of time to take in all the scenery and enjoy the nice sunshine. when we finally got back to the corral {or correl if you're a rancher} and it was time to get off i seriously could hardly walk. it was kinda pathetic! what a sad little city girl i am. i guess i should take the advice the head rancher guy had engraved on his rather large shiny gold belt buckle to "cowboy up"

cutie pie

a few weeks ago we met up with chris' family for a cousin's wedding out in altamont,ut. our niece tylee was walking and it was the first time we'd seen her walking. she's barely a year old and is so tiny it just doesn't seem like she should be walking! chris and i are absolutely head over heels for her and we just wish we could see her {and the rest of the fam too of course} more often!

i {heart} sushi

chris started his {first ever since high school} spring break friday after a grueling week of tests. i have noticed since we started school that when he's not bogged down with studying and has absolutely nothing to preoccupy his time i have a clean house, an empty laundry basket and a spotless kitchen. it's fabulous. but i also find that i get nothing done because i want to spend every minute with my long lost husband. tonight, even though we had pork chops sitting in the fridge waiting to be grilled, we found ourselves at tsunami enjoying a bowl of sea salted edamame and an aloha and seattle roll of sushi. the aloha roll had tuna, mango, avocado and jalapeno and the seattle roll had smoked salmon, tuna, asparagus, avocado and some fish egg looking stuff that was green. both were super good, but the aloha roll was definitely our fave. last time we ate at tsunami it was completely by chance. we were waiting for a dollare movie to start and we were both starving. we enjoyed it so much that i crave it constantly. i love eating at local haunts and getting food that is original to where we're at. i used to be a big chain restaurant girl, i guess i really never knew the awesomeness of a local gem. if you're a sushi fan, head over to sugar house and get you some super good sushi and enjoy a dollar movie while you digest.

spring means...

running in shorts and a T-shirt! chris and i have been loving the nice weather and this morning we decided to get outside and go for a run. i've been running outside pretty regularly through the winter and it was such a nice change to not have to gear up and put on every possible article of warm clothing i own to go out and get a good run in. we ran over by the salt lake cemetery where most of the prophets are buried and we saw some neat headstones bearing the names of pioneers who had crossed the plains. we didn't go very far, only about 3 miles but it was nice to get out in the warm sunshine and enjoy each other's company. now if only we could safely get through spring without another snow storm {knock on wood}

the bomb.com enchiladas

growing up with mexican food as a main staple in my diet has made me super attracted to new mexican dishes. i found this one while blog stalking and the combination of ingredients intrigued me and thanfully it didn't disappoint. i used a full rotisserie chicken from sam's club instead of the 4 chicken breasts. go make these now! they are amazing.

{sweet lime chili enchiladas & sweet pepper rice}

4 chicken breast, cooked & shredded
1 12-15 oz. bottle salsa verde
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup lime juice
1 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup heavy whipping cream
8-10 flour tortillas
5 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

in a large bowl, whick together honey, lime juice, chili powder, garlic powder & salt. add shredded chicken to the lime mixture. let sit 10 minutes. in a 9x13 pan pour 3/4 of the bottle of salsa verde, just to cover the bottle of the pan. reserve the rest. take each flour tortilla & fill with a chicken & cheese. a couple of tablespoons of each. roll up & place, seam side down in the salsa verde. repeat process until all tortillas are filled. after you remove all of the chicken, there will be remaining lime sauce in the bowl. to that sauce, add heavy cream & the remaining salsa verde. pour this mixture over the filled enchilada & cover with all the remaining cheese. bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until cheese is brown & bubbly. serve with sweet rice.

{sweet pepper rice}

3 TBSP butter
1 sweet onion, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup long grain white rice
3 cups chicken stock

in a large saute pan, melt butter & add onion & pepper. cook until soft & onion is translucent. add cilantro & salt & garlic powder, cook another minute. add rice & brown. watch closely as not to burn. dissolve sugar into chicken stock. when completely dissolve, add to rice. bring to a simmer, turn to low & cover. cook covered for 30 minutes. fluff with fork.

late night

chris always makes fun of me because i'm an "early to bed" type gal. i definitely need my full eight to function properly. going to bed much past 10 is super hard for me and it's not a rare occasion {especially when chris is busy studying} that i go to bed before 10. thursday night i got home late from work. it was 10, i was tired and it was past my bedtime. chris had just turned on the uconn/syracuse basketball game. i of course was ready to go to bed and could care less about this game, but there was only 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter so i jumped in my jammies and sat next to him, figuring we'd be in bed in about 5 minutes. the game ended an hour and a half later after the sixth over time! about mid way through the fifth i complained about the game never ending and how exhausted i was. "well just go to bed then" chris said indifferently. go to bed? i'd just spent over an hour watching intense college basketball, i was fully invested now. when the fifth ended i was worried i might not get to bed before midnight. the announcers started making comments that would make you think it was a baseball game if you couldn't see the screen. luckily, syracuse pulled it out in the sixth and won the game. and i got to bed before midnight.

this is how i felt when the game was finally over {i'm pretty sure i was more excited than he was}

the caption for this picture read: "exhausted/dejected uconn player falls asleep on the hardwood in the final minutes of the 6th overtime"