Expecting the Unexpected

So, I've been carrying around a secret for a little while now.
Jordan and I were recently surprised to discover that we will be parents quite a bit sooner than we thought! Our little girl is due June, 19 2014.

We can't wait to meet our daughter!

Will post properly very soon!

-Alice 

Hibernation

The weather got progressively colder throughout November, and I had been dreading snowfall... The thought of driving in it was terrifying. Because of this, I was hoping to have my office set up at home by then. I guess I wasn't organised enough. I'll be working from home next week, though. I'm really happy about that. Thanksgiving was really lovely. It's such a nice tradition to get together with family and friends to feast. Any excuse to do that is just fine by me. We went to Jordan's aunt Jeana's. There was so much food, so many people.... There were 2 turkeys (Jordan carved one), a roast ham, slowly roasted pork, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes (one lot with pecans, the other with marshmallows on), string beans, salads.... Yeah, a lot. Then for dessert there was: chocolate pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, coconut cream pie, lemon meringue pie...cherry pie (and this is only what I can remember). We walked away from thanksgiving dinner with very full bellies and a bag of turkey meat which I made Cornish pasties with the next day.

I haven't ventured out much over the last few weeks. My days have been filled with work, crocheting pretty little things for Christmas, sewing and cooking. I'm in love with this lady's crochet designs. Since it started snowing, the weather has dropped to temperatures I wasn't even aware existed. The last few nights it's been -16, -18 degrees celsius. In the mornings when I leave for work at 5.30, I bundle up, walk briskly to the car and then drive slowly along the icy roads to get to work. Today as I was going home, I thought 'hmm...It's warmer today.' When I got in the car, the temperature told me it was -2 celsius. Can I now officially call myself a Utahn?

We ventured out on Saturday night to Temple Square. I had my friend, Sarah stay with us this past weekend (Sarah is a friend from Lyon, studying in Idaho). Each year in December, Temple Square is lit up so beautifully. We walked around for a bit and then got hot chocolates on the way home (of course) so that we could warm up again.

And, so until it reaches a balmy 3 degrees, I'll be inside eating vegetable stews and curling up with my sweetheart.

Time

Halloween came and passed. We dressed up as Where's Wallies. We had a lot of fun with this. Can you spot Wally in the supermarket?? We made a trip out West to the desert. I told Jordan that this would be my last camping trip in a while. It's just so so cold!

I cannot believe that we have already been here for 4 months. It feels much longer than that. Perhaps it's the bitter cold weather, waking up so incredibly early to work my French call center job, or the amount of time that I've spent alone with our two dogs in our one-bedroom apartment - but life's got me down this last little while, which is why I've been a bit slack in posting anything. It's not that I'm that miserable. I'm happy to be with Jordan and to spend time with American family, but it is so terribly far away.... And they don't sell Vegemite or Milo at our local supermarket. I think I'm finally discovering the brands that I like, though. I even found some decent sour dough bread.

I've decided to be proactive and keep myself a little busier. I've decided that I'd like to craft most of the Christmas gifts this year, which will keep me busy for the next few weeks. I've also decided to cook more. When it's freezing cold and you're in need of home comforts, it's wonderful to keep busy cooking. I pleaded with Jordan to allow me to take my Stephanie Alexander cookbook over here (which probably weighs at least 5 KG) but it's lately become my best friend. A lot of the recipes that my parents use have come from this amazing, Bible of a cookbook. I've thus far made lasagne, various soups and risotto. I intend to make much more. In fact, I am committed to making at least one good, home-cooked meal a week. 

Last week I made Hungarian Goulash. This recipe is a family favourite and it tasted like home at winter. Kenzie, Shad and Maeve came round and it was very popular.

This is the recipe for how to make Hungarian Style Goulash

You will Need

- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium onions
-500 stewing veal (I use beef)
- 1 tbsp Hungarian Paprika
- 425 g can chopped tomatoes
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 large potato, peeled and diced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and thickly sliced
- 1 green capsicum, chopped (capsicum means pepper, for y'all American folk)
- salt and ground black pepper
- sour cream

Method: Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan and cook the onion for 10 minutes over moderate heat, stirring from time to time, until soft and golden brown. Remove the onion from the pan, increase the heat and brown the meat in batches, then return al to the pan

2. Return the onion to the pan. Add the paprika, caraway seeds, tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/4 hours.

3. Add the diced potato, carrot and capsicum. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Season to taste with pepper and salt. Served best with rice (or can be served on its own)

4. Once dished, stir in a couple of teaspoons of sour cream.

Until next time,

- Alice

Autumn

We took the opportunity to drive up American Fork Canyon yesterday. I so desperately wanted to see the Autumn leaves before the season ended. We were up there at such a beautiful time. The light was golden and it truly looked celestial. Trees just aren't like this in Australia, so I'm always excited when I see Autumn in another part of the world where the colours of the leaves are so vibrant. I also can't get enough of these snow-capped mountains. I can even see them from our bedroom window.

It's colder now and although I'm looking forward to a snowy winter, I'd be lying if I said I don't miss the sunshine. I hope we plan a trip to Southern Utah soon!

- Alice

A Family Weekend

Last weekend was full of family activities. Tim came to visit from Colorado and we took the opportunity to go camping. Now, most of you are probably aware that I'm not really the camping type - but I did actually have a pretty good time. We roasted hot dogs and made s'mores (marshmellow with graham crackers and chocolate). The views were really pretty too. Sunday Maeve had her baby blessing. She looked so beautiful and fluffy in her white attire. Shad gave a really beautiful blessing and it was a wonderful day for everyone!

- Alice

That Time of Year

Once again, General Conference came and went. This year I was lucky enough to go to 2 sessions! The pictures above show 20,000 women swarming into the conference centre. Getting out was a struggle, but it was well worth it. For those of you who don't know what General Conference is, it's where the leaders of my church (the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) give motivating talks about Christ that inspire the members of the church. To learn more, or to watch General Conference, go here. Other than that, the weather has been changing. This year Utah has had some very early snow. The mountains have nice little caps on top, that I can even see from my bedroom window. They look so beautiful! Also, the colours of the Autumn leaves are stunning. What a scenic new place to live! We had the opportunity last week to go to Park City, where we visited Deb and Garry. They drove us around and showed us some ski resorts, including some things that were used here in the winter Olympics. I loved Park City. It even snowed for us!

Other than all of that, work has been keeping us busy, and we're always happy when our schedules meet (which isn't too often). We've been decorating our apartment and spoiling our dogs.

- Alice

Common Ground

Nearly immediately after we arrived, Jordan's old friend Ty asked him to play guitar in his band. Ty's been writing music for a long time now and the band was performing at a small event in Provo, 'Chalk the Block'.

After saying yes and completely committing to rehearsals twice a week, practicing day and night, listening to the same Cd over and over and over and learning 13 new songs in 2 weeks, this is what Jordan eventually looked like...

The 2 nights of performances were fantastic! Melissa and I (Melissa is Ty's wife and my friend over here) walked around to look at the various chalk art displays while the band set up... There were some really beautiful ones (they'd especially done well as it had started to rain during the day)!

Emry (my little friend who is Melissa and Ty's daughter) joined us and listed all the colours!

Almost all of Jordan's family came to watch, which was really nice! Maeve was sporting some of the things that I've crocheted for her, so that made me really happy :)

Overall, it was a great time and a wonderful performance! Check out Common Ground's music here

Now the guitar practice has slowed down, I finish training for my job next week and life is slowly starting to catch up...

I just hope the next post is just as interesting!

- Alice

It's a Small World After All

Quite a few weeks ago now, I had the chance to catch up with my dear friend, Cat. Cat and I were best pals when I lived in Hawaii for a short time and I hadn't seen her since! We were lucky enough to cross paths for the first time in almost 8 years! 

Also, Søren made it out to Salt Lake for business, which happened to coincide with my birthday... It's hard to believe that he often flies all the way out here. Although I'm far away from my family back home, it's comforting to know that not only do I have great family here, but my family in Denmark aren't so far away :) 

I also can't believe that Jordan and I were in Sydney together not so long ago...

And now here we are in Utah. We also got our own apartment a couple of weeks back, which we've been busy setting up. The real world is setting in and I've got a desk job, while Jordan goes to school and works at the grocery store (we are trying to get him a better job)!

- Alice