A year ago today I wrote this post: My Farewell to Utah. Oh, Utah, you will always have a place in my heart and I certainly hope we get to have more memories together one day.
Last night, as T.J. and I laid in bed, we were talking about how fast and slow this year has been. In some ways, it feels like we just were eating at JCW’s for the last time with his family.
But we got on a plane and had faith we were doing the right thing. I remember those first couple of weeks of living out here so vividly. Trying to find a place. Having no money. Being stressed out of our minds. Even the smells of Spring in the city again has made me remember some random memories of when we first came here. It was so humid and sticky as we apartment hunted and frantically tried to find a place to live. T.J. and I agree that those first couple of weeks of living out here were the most stressful and difficult times we have had together. But once we signed for our apartment, our new life and adventure began and what a year it has been.
It took a while to get used to being out here, but finally I was able to call it home. I met some good friends, we got callings in our ward, and have tried to really live it up this year since we’re unsure of how long we will be living out here. I just went back through all my old posts from the past year. We really have done a lot… and another summer means more exciting things to come!
A while ago, a member of the Stake gave a talk in our ward and talked about how everyone needs to act and serve in the ward as if this is our permanent home. In such a transitional area, where people are moving in and out so often, it’s easy to continually think of this part of our lives as temporary and always think about what life is going to be after we move away. But he reminded us to enjoy the now and fully dedicate our lives in the church no matter where we are. That talk REALLY impacted me. I stopped thinking about this time in our life as a short phase and adjusted my attitude so I wouldn’t miss out on the memories around me. We are here NOW so make the BEST of it!
And I really do love it out here now. It definitely has its quirks, but one day we will look back on this time here and think about how they were the good ol’ days! I don’t think I want to raise all of my children out here, so that certainly does put a shorter time limit on our Jersey life. But for now, we’re happy we are here and enjoy the life around us. Except for the Winter. The Winter was miserable! haha!
Cheers to us for making it one year!
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- Newport Walks
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- Piano Guys
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- FHE on the River
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- Met BJ Novak
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- Times Square with the Parents
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- DC Visit
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- Macy’s Flower Show
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- Halloween
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- Blair Visits
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- Hometown Friends Fun
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- Lovers
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- Liberty State Park
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- SO MUCH SNOW
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- Chelsea Market with Hannah
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- Natural History Museum
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- Bachelorette Parties
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- SoHo
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- Papa visits
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- Carlo’s Bakery
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- Visits to KY
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- Central Park Zoo
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- Boston
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- Picnics on the river
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- NYC Fun with Ashley
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- Bryant Park
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- Chincoteague
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- NYC Libary
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- Coney Island
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- Ghostbusters!
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- Macy’s Santaland
The NYC Times had a little quiz to find out what your dialect is most like. Well, T.J. and I tried it out and it was kind of interesting and pretty accurate to where we grew up. I loved watching him take the test and see how we pronounce so many words differently.
Can you tell who’s map is whose?
Here are some more random instagrams from the past couple weeks:
I told Eva to smile and she made this face.
Eva and her new boyfriend, Grayson, on a date playing Hungry Hippos.
Jenny and I went to an Earth Day market in Jersey City.
Doesn’t she look adorable? I can’t get over this outfit. Thanks to my MIL!
We went to the Liberty Science Center one afternoon… it had been a while since we had been so it was a huge hit!
Eva went to her first big birthday party! Big as in, she actually knew what was going on.
The view of Jersey City from the other side of the river in Manhattan.
Back across the river on a walk with Ashley (get back to town, already… I miss you!).
Here’s the thing. I love Mexican food but T.J. is not a huge fan. He doesn’t mind it once in a while, but I could eat Mexican food everyday. And when I say Mexican food, maybe it’s not authentic, maybe it’s Tex-mex, but usually it includes something like rice, beans, guac, salsa, corn, cilantro, etc.
Well, for Cinco de Mayo, it was the perfect excuse to try out a new recipe or two for dinner. I made chicken quesadillas and homemade salsa.
The chicken quesadillas (aka Crispy Chicken Wraps) were SO easy to make. Cook your chicken, shred it, add some mayo, sour cream, cheese hot sauce, cilantro, and green onions… throw it inside your quesadillas and heat it up in a little olive oil on the stove. Delish.
And for the homemade salsa (aka Cowboy Caviar), even though T.J. says this doesn’t count as salsa because it wasn’t a tomato base (I put half the amount of tomatoes in that the recipe calls for), we ate it SO fast. I’m obsessed with this recipe and could eat it errydayallday! I usually have all the ingredients for this on hand anyway, so I’ll definitely be making it often!
So, if you want to make a fast and easy meal for tonight… try this! 
Crevening = craft evening
We bought a new rug recently and it clashed with our colors, so I couldn’t stand it much longer. I bribed a friend of mine at church to take me to a fabric store so I could buy some new fabric and recover my pillows. Pam studied interior design in school… it turns out she was the perfect person to take me shopping! I wish she’d decorate my entire house! Then Ashley lent me her sewing machine and I went to work!
The first pillow took a while because I hadn’t sewn for a long time. I even sewed the wrong sides together… rookie mistake! I ripped out the stitches and tried again. Once I figured out the first one though, I got a hang of it and did eight covers within a couple of hours! They were so easy to do using this guide and I can’t believe I didn’t do this earlier! Oh, and I also added extra fluffing in some of the old pillows because they had gotten flimsy. The extra fluff makes them look much nicer, I think.
Before
After
Yesterday, my dad took me to the airport. It also happened to be his birthday. I asked him, as we were driving there, what he used to do as a kid on his birthday. The conversation was basically this:
Dad: Well, my parents never did anything extravagant on our birthdays like your mom does for you all. My birthday was special though because Jeff and I had to pick dandelions everyday and weigh them in. We weighed them in on the “dreaded scale in the garage.”
Me: Dad, you’re lying. I don’t believe you.
Dad (not even cracking a smile, and really pouring out the details now): No, I’m not joking. We would weigh them in, and then half of that number was the weight of food we were allowed to have. I mean, you remember how big our yard was. There were a lot of dandelions to pick. And my dad said he’d never buy weed killer as long as he had sons.
Me: That’s ridiculous. I know you’re making this up.
Dad: No, no, no! I promise this happened. So, on our birthdays, it would be great because the ratio was 1 to 1. Not 2 to 1. And Jeff’s birthday is in April too, so twice in April we’d get to have the 1 to 1 weight ratio of dandelions to food.
Me: (Thinking…I feel like this is kind of like child abuse…) Wow, that was kind of tough/weird/bizarre. But what about school? How could you pick all those dandelions when you had school every day?
Dad: We still had to get the quota for the day, there were no exceptions. And you know you can eat dandelions right? They make a pretty good salad.
Me: Like their stems?
Dad: No, their leaves. You have to get a bunch of them but they’re pretty good for you.
Me: Hmmm…..
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So, today I got on my Uncle Jeff’s Facebook page and messaged him.
They all had such compelling comments and went right along with the story, that I had no reason NOT to believe them. When I talked to my Dad tonight, I told him how Jeff and Tim backed up his story and that I was sorry for not believing him entirely yesterday. Then my dad lost it… lots of laughter. It was ALL a lie! I guess they occasionally did have to pull the dandelions but there was no “dreaded scale in the garage” and definitely no ratio thing going on! Those tricksters! They are all so sarcastic and have the driest humor. It’s the true nature of a Swainhart, I guess!
Can you even eat them, Dad? Or am I going to go try and make a dandelion salad and poison myself?!
Here are my grandparents that I believed made their children pick hundreds of pounds of dandelions so they could eat food (hahaha… it’s so ridiculous now that I think about it!):
And here’s my Dad with his older brother Tim-I guess Tim was too old in the story for the dandelion picking chore 😉 :
Last month we went to an Indian restaurant nearby. My Indian friend from church said it was her favorite, so I knew we had to try it. Apparently, at lunch they have an all-you-can-eat buffet! I gotta try that! We went for dinner and it was soooo good, but definitely on the pricey side. It made us want to eat MORE and MORE Indian food, so I tried out a new curry recipe. All the ones in the past I’ve made have been in the crockpot, but this one is ready within a half hour or so and is so easy. I had all the ingredients on hand already, so double win!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
Directions
- Mix together flour, salt and cayenne pepper in a plastic bag; add chicken in small batches, shaking to coat.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add chicken and cook until lightly browned; then add curry powder and toss to coat.
- Remove from pan.
- Add onion and garlic to pan, adding a little more oil if necessary, and cook for 2 minutes, then add broth and tomato paste.
- Return chicken to pan and simmer uncovered for 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened.
- Garnish with cilantro and a dollop of yogurt.
- Serve with jasmine rice (Target has a quick cooking kind) and naan bread.
I couldn’t help but to reflect on all the birthdays I’ve had and try to see how far back I can remember. So, here’s a little time warp for you:
25: Piano Guys in NYC
24: Eating Cheesecake with my parents in KY
23: Hunger Games in Provo and SLC Date
22: Tucanos with T.J. and Dustin (the day before I found out I was pregnant, too)
21: Engaged, Tucanos in SLC
20: The Melting Pot with my brother Sam and T.J. (first time I considered him my boyfriend)
19: Double date with friends as a Freshman and Birthday party with roommates
18: Surprise party with Camille and missionaries right before leaving for Disney World (can’t find picture 🙁 )
That’s when it gets blurry. The rest of my high school years I probably hung out with Blair, Kelly, and Lelia at the Levee. Then Junior High and late elementary I had slumber parties. What a fun flashback!
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