Review...

Hello there! It seems as though I'm not very good at keeping up with this posting business, and I tend to post the happenings of almost a year in one blurb... Oh well! I have a little spare time today, so here is an update of the last little while!

Jared and I had a wonderful summer, spending time with family and enjoying the sun. We were able to go on a fun vacation to California just the two of us. We took it easy, enjoying good food and driving around the beautiful area of Monterey. Although it wasn't as warm as we thought it would be, we still had a wonderful time.

We had new Olsen family pictures done in the fall. Aren't we a pretty bunch? I fiddled with the one of Jared and I on Picnik. It's a fun website that lets you edit your pictures online, and it's easy!

My little sis got married in October. We had so much fun planning her adorable wedding, and it was one of the best days of the year.

Our Holidays were a blast, starting with Halloween. Jared and I decided to be characters from the show "Glee." I'm sure you can guess who we are...

We balanced Thanksgiving and Christmas between the families, and enjoyed every minute of those days. We had time off of work and took advantage of getting rest and taking it easy.

Jared got a promotion at work, passed the PHR exam, and he'll be finishing up school in just a couple of weeks. WooHoo! He volunteers for a local chapter of SHRM (an HR professionals association), and I have recently given him the nick name of "LinkedIn master" (LinkedIn is his new best buddy).

Things are good with me- between work, young womens, family, and everything else that can fill in the cracks, I'm keeping busy.

We have a lot to look forward to this year- a couple of fun trips are in the works. Florida and Hawaii, here we come! I can't wait to tell you all about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (yes, I'm a nerd). Expelliarmus!

Until next time...

Goodbye old friend

A couple of weeks ago, Jared and I said goodbye to our trusty old Honda. It was a good car, toting me to work and school, playing my favorite music all the way and giving me great gas mileage. We had some hard times (when it was stolen, some bumps, some bruises), but mostly my memories are very fond. I will miss you, green car!

Here is the new addition. We are still getting to know each other, but we seem to be getting along very well...

Birthdays and Valentines

This past weekend was so fun! Not only was it Jared's 25th birthday and Valentines day (or Valentimes day as some of us like to say it...), we had a new little addition born into our family. Jared's sister Brandy and her husband Dave welcomed baby Cooper into the world on Friday. He is such a cute little boy! We are so glad he is here and that he and Brandy are doing so well.

We celebrated Jared's birthday by going to a movie, opening presents, washing the car (the car that hadn't been washed in a year...), going out to dinner with the fam, and visiting baby Cooper in the hospital. Jared didn't mind sharing his birthday celebration with Cooper this year, I think he's quite a proud uncle. I got Jared a kettlebell for his birthday, and I'm already sore from trying to use it! Whew, what a workout!

Valentines day was a nice day, we went to church and then spent a relaxing evening at home. We made steaks for our very first time, and they turned out great! Thanks mom for the recipe!

Until next time, ta ta for now!

It's been 6 months- How about another post?

Well, it's been a good 6 or 7 months since my last post. I don't know what happened! I kept on thinking about posting, but never got around to it. Now here it is, half a year later, and I'm trying to figure out what I should write about. I guess I'll just try to sum up the events of the last few months in a list. I like lists.

- Jared and I went to Chicago this summer. We had so much fun wandering around the Windy City. We shopped on the Miracle Mile, ate Chicago dogs and deep dish pizza, and saw the Sears Tower and other famous landmarks. Thanks Rob and Tammy for letting us tag along!

-Jared started school at the University of Phoenix. He is loving it, and is getting great grades. He is so smart! This February, he'll already be 1/3 of the way through his MBA program. Woohoo! (I had to take this first day of school picture and embarrass Jared in front of our neighbors...)

-We went to Las Vegas with the Olsen family in September for a little get away. We enjoyed a few relaxing days of shopping, shows, and HEAT! We got to visit the Hoover Dam, which was pretty impressive.

-Jared and I were John and Kate for Halloween. Our costumes looked great if I do say so myself.

-I made my first pecan pies for Thanksgiving. They looked so wonderful, but I am very ashamed to say that they were gross. I don't know what went wrong. Sorry family, I'll try again someday!

-We had new family pictures taken with the Olsen's. Picture day was one of the chilliest days of the year, and we were outside with no coats on. Needless to say, it was a very short photography session! What do you think of Jared's long curly hair?

-We celebrated our 2nd Christmas in our townhouse. Wow, time sure does fly. We replaced our really small tree with a normal sized tree, and it looked great!

-We spent some quality time with our families and friends. We sure do love them!

Hopefully it won't be another 6 months until you hear from me again!

a bowl of cherries and a bit of style

I found out today that I like cherries. I always thought I didn't, but a co-worker brought in a bag of cherries from her very own cherry tree today, and they looked delectable! So shiny and red and plump... I couldn't resist trying one. After I did, I realized that I have been missing out on quite a wonderful and delicious fruit. The only downfall is the pit that you have to avoid breaking your teeth on and eventually spit out.

One more thing. My sister-in-law Brandy has launched an extremely cute etsy shop called Just Our Style. The shop has handmade items made by Brandy, Sarah, Tammy, and eventually myself (I'm still working on posting a painting or two...). So, if you have the time, check out http://www.justourstyle.etsy.com/. I think you'll find something that you might not be able to live without! (P.S. All of the handmade cards by Brandy are on sale until June 21st!)

Oh Happy Day

Jared is officially done with school! I should've mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't... (I'm sorry Jared). His graduation and our anniversary were on the same day, so we went out to celebrate both events that night. I am so proud of him and his accomplishment! Here is a picture of one of the cards he got for this special occasion... I thought it was pretty fun.

Now on to the next big adventure!

Two Whole Years

Two years ago, on May 8th, 2007, Jared and I were married. I can't believe it's been two years, but at the same time, I can't remember my life before being Jared's wife!

Here are some highlights from our wedding day...

We were married in the Salt Lake Temple

Our wedding colors were pink and brown

The wedding luncheon was at the Memorial House in Memory Grove

We had a great photographer

Our reception was at The Gathering Place at Gardner Village

My bouquet was a combination of roses, tulips, peonies, and renuculas

My mom made my wedding cake

My wedding dress had a white sash that was switched to brown for the reception

One of my best friends flew in from Florida, and my sister in law and nieces came from Washington

We had a candy buffet with all sorts of fun pink and brown candies

The weather was beautiful

My hair actually stayed curly the whole day

We saw so many family members and friends

We flew to Cancun the next day and spent a week there for our honeymoon

It was the best day ever!

The Best Birthday Ever!

Last Thursday was my birthday. It was a delightful day. Children were excited to tell me happy birthday and sing me songs all day long at work, we went to dinner with my favorite people (the Olsen and Wilcox families), and had them over afterward to hang out and open gifts. The day was great, and Jared gave me the best present ever. He got a new job! When he told me I cried, laughed, and breathed a sigh of relief. We consider ourselves so blessed to have this new opportunity.

We know that Heavenly Father is mindful of us and heard our prayers. We are so grateful for all of the support and prayers on our behalf, and can't thank those around us enough for giving us kind words and advice through these few weeks.

Jared will be working in the HR department at a company called DWG and associates. He already has great experience in this field, and he enjoys this type of work very much. I know that he'll do a fantastic job with this new company, because he is such a hard worker, a great learner, and he's pretty smart too. I'm pretty lucky to have him!

The gang at the Olive Garden. We had a great time!

It's all about who you know, right?

Hi there friends and family. This week Jared and I had a big change. Megaplex Theatres and other Larry H. Miller companies had to let go of 50 employees, and unfortunately, Jared's position was one of many that were dissolved.

Although we are very sad and shocked, (I guess no more free movies, dang it) we are very hopeful and excited for any new opportunities that could come our way. We know that most jobs are found by networking and talking with people you know- so if any of you out there happen to hear of anything Jared might be good at, just let us know! We'll be so happy to hear from you.

And the winner is....!

My GIANT purse. This week I went to our Relief Society birthday party. We had a yummy dinner, a lovely short program, and a fun game involving our purses. The game had all of the women in the ward frantically digging through their bags looking for requested items- normal or random. Some of the items included... Pantyhose, a needle and thread, a DVD, an airline ticket, etc. My purse won the biggest prize of all though, drum roll please.....

It is the heaviest (weighing in at 7 pounds) of all the purses of the night. HOW in the world did I let it get this way? It's not even a diaper bag- it only holds junk for me!

I won a candy bar though. Yay! That makes my sore arms and hunched back seem worth it...

Have you met my husband?

Jared's been tagged by Eva and Peggy! This will be fun because most (mmm, I guess all) of the posts are done by me, even though the blog is called "Cass and Jared." Here's some fun information about my cute husband- these answers are from his own mouth, typed by my fingers.

Here are the rules:

(1) post rules on your blog

(2) answer the six “8” items

(3) tag others and let each person know by leaving them a comment.

So, here goes:

8 Things on My Wish List

1. To be done with school forever!

2. To go on a trip with Cass to Monterey CA.

3. To be on the Amazing Race.

4. To weigh 175 pounds.

5. To be on the beach with Cassidy in Cancun.

6. To see all of the summer blockbuster movies NOW!

7. To have a regular work-out routine.

8. To get a raise at work on Monday.

8 favorite TV shows

1. The Office

2. 30 Rock

3. Lost

4. Heroes

5. Life

6. The Biggest Loser

7. The Amazing Race

8. The Soup

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to

1. To be done with school at the University of Utah. (Only two months left!)
2. To start school at the University of Phoenix.

3. Paying off my car.

4. Being a dad (in a few years, of course).

5. Moving up the corporate ladder.

6. Going back to Salinas California.

7. This summer.

8. Getting grass in the front yard of our home.

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Olive Garden

2. Macaroni Grill

3. Chili's

4. Tepanyaki

5. Subway

6. Cafe Rio

7. Red Robin

8. The Pie

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Went in the Utah Jazz locker room.

2. Sat in Deron Williams' locker chair and held his shoes.

3. Walked on the "catwalk" at the Energy Solutions Arena.

4. Gave a presentation about innovation.

5. Went to dinner with Cass.

6. Watched my sister Brandy on Studio Five

7. Kicked Blake's trash at "Red Steel."

8. Went to bed way too early for a Friday night.

8 People I Tag

Michael George Thatcher

Albert Einstein

Deron Williams

Joel McHale

Chuck Norris

Peter Griffin

Jason Bourne

Gigi

Here you go!

I've had a few requests from some friends of mine to post the delicious Cafe Rio salad dressing I made a while ago, so here it is. It is a little thicker than the real thing, but it is as close as you're gonna get without buying it! I got this recipe from my sister-in-law Jane's ward cookbook.


Cafe Rio's creamy tomatillo dressing;


3 fresh tomatillos, cut into quarters
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 cup buttermilk (or make with dry buttermilk mix)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 package of dry ranch buttermilk dressing mix
1 cup fresh cilantro (about 1 bunch)
5 stalks (1/2 bunch of green onions with ends)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, crushed
4 tsp sugar or other sweetener



Combine well in blender and refrigerate for one hour.


I kinda improvised with some of the ingredients and added more or less of the ingredients depending on what I had and what tasted good. It makes a lot, so plan on eating a salad for the next few days!


Also, we had a really fun valentines day and holiday weekend- Saturday was really laid back, and then we went to a fancy dinner at Cafe Madrid. To tell you the truth, it was a little too expensive and I didn't enjoy the food that much- but the atmosphere, service and company was great! The Amazing Race started on Sunday, and we went over to Brandy and Dave's to watch the first episode. Jared wants to be on that show so bad, and I think it would be so fun, but so stressful. I like to travel- but not like that! On Monday we helped Jared's parents paint their bedroom a new fresh color, and then we went to a movie...Then it was back to the daily grind! I sure do love my weekends and the chance it gives me to catch my breath before another week begins!

Happy Birthday Jared!

Yesterday was my darling husbands birthday. He is now an older and wiser 24 years old! The birthday festivities went as follows:

He got to go to lunch with a good friend. (This good friend was also Jared's first mission companion. They even work together and have too much fun together.)

After work we went to the Olive Garden with family and friends. (We love the company of these wonderful people!)

We had people come over to our house for birthday cake and games. (I think catch phrase is the best game to play with a group of people. We sure did make a lot of noise!)

Jared was a pretty lucky boy and got a few gifts- Gift cards and dress shirts were the theme of the night. (He also got a miniature lawn gnome, which was his favorite gift- thanks Thatcher.)

I sure do love Jared and think he's the best! I hope you had a wonderful day!

Week in Review

I apologize for taking so much time off from the blogging world- time went so fast that I didn't realize I had been gone so long! Jared and I have had a fun week together...let me just give you a little update.

1. We spoke in church on Sunday, which always throws me for a loop. I get so nervous, and it takes me forever to prepare for it because I want so badly to say the right things. Jared, on the other hand, puts it together the morning of (and does a great job), and mocks me while I tell him I might throw up. (just kidding, he doesn't mock me, he just wonders why it makes me so scared.)

2.I had a lovely half a day off on Monday-which was really nice. I got a lot of work done in the short time I was there. You'd never believe how much work I can get done when I don't have adorable children telling me that they might throw up, that they forgot their lunch, or that there's a giant poop in the toilet that might not go down.

3. I made Jared and I a cafe rio salad for dinner the other night, and it was actually quite mouthwatering! I have a cookbook that has the recipes for the rice, beans and oh so delicious creamy dressing. I topped it off with some homemade guacamole and it was deliciouso!

4. I watched American Idol. I hate it when American Idol comes back on, because I love to watch it, but feel like it's a waste of my time. Especially when they have 2 hour episodes!

5.I drove home in some really thick fog/smog yesterday. It was actually really cool, because as I was driving down the freeway, all I could see were the taillights of those closest to me. I couldn't even see the huge green exit signs until they were right above me. It seemed as if they were appearing out of thin air!

6.We had some friends over last night for pizza and games, and it was a lot of fun. We played malarkey, scene it, and some old-school video games that made me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe.

Now it's Saturday and a new week will be here and gone in no time. How does time go so fast?

The Other Room

We have an extra bedroom in our house, and it doesn't have a purpose. We have our bedroom, the office, and the... other room. I've been thinking about what we could do to that room to make it look complete, and this weekend we finished it! I thought that if we bought a little chair it would maybe feel more like a den or reading room. So, yesterday morning, we got up early and drove up to the avenues to pick up a peach (yes, peach) chair. I found it on ksl.com, and it is quite perfect for what I wanted it for. After that, we went to a really neat store called second hand chic in Sugarhouse and bought some accent pillows. This store was so cute! All of the items in it were used, but the collection of items were so detailed and beautiful and cool. I loved it! Now we have a reading room, that doubles as an art room ( which makes me think I should really start another project). What do you think about my chair?




On a different and more random note, I have an extremely large bruise on my knee. I have no idea where it came from, and it's driving me nuts! You would think I would remember a blow that hard-hard enough to make my knee turn purple- but I don't! Don't you hate that?

Home Sweet Home!

Yes, everyone, we are finally in our new home! We moved in last Friday, and we were able to get settled just in time for Christmas. We had a lot of help moving- and we are so grateful for all those who pitched in! Thank you so much Rob and Tammy, Mom and Dad, Brandy and Dave, Thatcher and Chris. We chose a pretty rotten day to move, but we just didn't want to postpone it... We were too excited to get in! It went pretty smoothly, but we did get the U-Haul stuck once. We love it here, and have been having so much fun putting things away, and decorating our walls. We can't thank Rob and Tammy enough for letting us invade their home while we were in between homes. They are so good to us and we love them so much. Here are some pictures of our new place...

We'll post more pictures when I get everything else put together.

Jared and I had such a nice Christmas. We spent a lot of time with our families, which is one of my favorite things. We had a progressive dinner with my dad's side of the family on the 23rd, which has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. I made a molded jello for the salad course of the meal, and let's just say that it didn't turn out right. I was so concerned that it wouldn't, and it actually looked alright when I took it out of the mold at my mom's house- whew- but within just a few minutes, it started to liquify before my very eyes. Sorry, no picture, I was too embarrassed to document...

On Christmas eve, we always go over to my parent's house and have pizza. For the past couple of years, we've been eating The Pie pizza, which is the best pizza in the world! After dinner we always read the Christmas story in the scriptures, and as a new event this year, we had a nativity. I thought it was so fun to see my nieces and nephews dressed up in robes and towels.

On Christmas morning, Jared and I opened our gifts from each other and then got ready to go to my grandma's house. We got there eventually, after digging ourselves out of very deep snow on our street. After breakfast at my grandma's house, we headed over to the Olsen home to open more gifts, eat some lunch, play some rock band, and visit with each other. We had a lovely time, and love spending time with Rob and Tammy and Brandy and Dave.

At the end of the night, we made our way home in terrible weather, and were really worried about making it home. No plows had been in our neighborhood that morning, and we had gotten stuck then- and it snowed almost all day long! When we got to our neighborhood, we realized that one street had been plowed, but the street in front of our house and behind our house had been missed. We decided to go for it, and ended up immobile just about 15 feet away from our garage. The next hour and a half was spent shoveling and digging, pushing and slipping. We would never had made it if some of our neighbors hadn't come to help. They were stuck as well, but knew there was no way they could get out of their predicament, so they came to our aid. Boy were we grateful! We made it in our garage, and we were both dripping wet and freezing cold. What a fun Christmas night! Plows finally made it today at 12:00pm- Which meant Jared got to stay home from work. We had a snow day!

Sorry for the length of this post, there was just so much for me to tell you about! I love Christmas, spending time with family and thinking about the Savior and his birth. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and we are so grateful for friends and family like you.

Movie Trivia

Jared has a pretty fun job. He gets to do something he's really interested in, and he gets to enjoy movies and food on a regular basis- what a lucky guy! These pictures are from some of Jared's orientation and training presentations. They are a pretty good way to entertain the new teenage employees during a long meeting. Can you identify any of the movies that these pictures are from? It's pretty hard without having the familiar faces of the actors in the image!

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Graham Cracker Houses

Last Sunday we had our monthly family dinner, and afterwards the little ones got to decorate graham cracker houses. They had so much fun putting candy and chocolate on their houses and licking their fingers. I spent much of my time repairing the houses that I accidentally broke though-Sorry kids! I just have bad luck with fragile things sometimes.

I love experiencing the holidays with my nieces and nephews, because it reminds me of how exciting and magical this time can be. Look at how cute these houses came out!

What a Nice Weekend!

Oh how I love Thanksgiving! We had such a nice holiday weekend, spending time with our families and with each other. On Thanksgiving day, we helped prepare a delicious meal, and watched a movie with the Olsen family. We visited my family later on in the day, and watched another movie. It was so nice to spend time with all of the people we love, and really think about the many blessings Jared and I have in our lives. I often feel overwhelmed when I think about the good things in my life and how lucky and blessed I am, and I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for giving me these wonderful things to be joyful about.

The rest of the weekend was filled with relaxation, movies, family parties and a Jazz game. Twilight and Quantum of Solace were the movies of choice- and both were pretty good! The Jazz game was especially exciting, because we got tickets with special privileges to go eat dinner and snacks in the VIP room in the Energy Solutions Arena.

Also, we checked out our townhouse, and it is so close to being finished. We are still hoping to be in it the weekend before Christmas, which is only three weeks away! It is painted, and our tile looks so nice. Our cabinets should be in by the end of this week. It has been so much fun to watch our little plot of land grow a house! We really can't wait to start living there.

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend, and hope you have a wonderful Christmas season!

A good way to spend my time

For the past few weekends, I've employed the help of my mom and sister to complete a project for the Festival of Trees. I've been going to the Festival of Trees for as many years as I can remember. It started with my mom. She decorated and donated a few trees when I was younger, and the Festival became a traditional mom and sister outing every year. I loved walking up and down the aisles, listening to Christmas music, smelling cinnamon and scones, and feeling the magic of this charity for Primary Children's Medical Center. When Jared and I were dating, I became involved on the small fry committee thanks to Tammy and Brandy, and the rest is history. While this year we are taking a little bit of a break, I've still been able to donate some of my time to the festival. My mom and I have made several double batches of suckers, we've decorated about 130 really cute plates to be sold at the small fry shop, and I'll be working a shift or two during festival week.

I love the Festival of Trees, and the spirit of giving and love it gives me. If you have the time, make sure you stop by the Southtowne Expo Center and see why so many people are hooked!