Not Too Much Happening...Except... :)

For those who want to hear my super exciting info, please email or call me.  I can't post it here because certain work-related eyes may be watching.  Lets just say I'm FREAKING out!  And VERY excited.

Jordan and I had an amazing lunch today.  So so so yummy!  It could be served in an Italian restaurant!  For those with the Dining with Duchess cookbook, it's on page 56.

Pork with Red Pepper Cream Sauce

4 pork chops
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 12-oz jar roasted bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup cream
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 12-oz package egg noodles

Season pork chops with salt and pepper and sear in pan with oil on both sides.  Remove pork chops from pan and set on plate.  Toss onions and garlic in the same pan and cook until somewhat tender.  Add roasted red pepper, chicken stock, cream, basil leaves, and brown sugar.  Stir until slightly thickened.  If pork chops weren't cooked completely, add them to the sauce and finish cooking.  Cook egg noodles and drain.  Place noodles on plates with pork chops on top.  Cover with cream sauce.

SOOO yummy!!  I love food!

Melyn's Trip to Utah

I know, I know.  I'm writing about my trip like 3 weeks late...oh well!  Work has been insanely busy, but more on that in a later post.

My brother was leaving for his mission on March 2, and I HAD to see him before he left.  I mean, I wasn't going to see him for 2 years!  I didn't want to miss seeing him any longer than that.  My parents and I decided that we should surprise him and the rest of my family.  Since he had just gotten endowed the week before, I wanted to meet him in the SLC temple on Saturday with my mom.  It was the sweetest experience.  All I can say is that doing temple work with your family is one of the simplest and sweetest ways to show your love for them and for God.

Before the farewell on Sunday, Jordan, my mom, and I went to the stake patriarch's house to get Jordan's Patriarchal Blessing.  WOW!!  It was an incredible experience.  We all have amazing potential as individuals - as human beings - as children of God.

Almost everyone in our family, except for a few cousins, and tons of friends in Mapleton came to hear Jordan speak in church.  It was so nice to see everyone! Both Jordan and Jared spoke in Sacrament Meeting.  Jordan ended up speaking for a half hour - the other guy didn't even have time to do his talk!  Haha :)

We had a party at Stephanie Shurian's (my mom's cousin) house afterwards, because my parents are currently remodeling their home.  The food was delicious - cupcakes from Sweet Tooth Fairy, pulled pork sandwiches, cold cuts, and salads.

On Monday before I left, we went to my dad's work to surprise him with Smart Cookies :)  He was out at lunch, but we left the cookies for him to eat.  I was so blessed to be able to see my family for a few days.  It was so good just hanging out.

For those that are interested, my brother's mission blog is elderjordancuthbert.blogspot.com.

Adventures in Salt Lake

Enjoy this post, because it will probably be the last one you see from me in a while, seeing how my spring break is already coming to an end. I wish Melyn had spring break too, but seeing how she works in the real world now, she still has been pretty busy.

Anyways, Melyn and I both got to go home to our families a few weeks ago. At separate times, however. She had her brother's farewell one weekend, I had a wedding the next. So, because we weren't there at the same time, I will write about my experience and Melyn will write about hers at some point in the near future.

Medical school is a great excuse to use for getting out of social events. I'm not a big fan of parties or weddings, so being busy with school is a good thing for me to tell people. But if there is one wedding I wouldn't miss (outside of my own family) it would be for my awesome friend Colin. And it just so happened that his wedding would be the day after an exam, which actually is the best timing possible. However, getting to Utah from Virginia is a crazy experience and my travel plans we're still up in the air only weeks away from the wedding. I'll spare you the details of stalking travel websites for weeks trying to find a good deal.

Needless to say, I made it to the wedding. Although, I just realized I didn't take any pictures with Colin or his bride while at the wedding, so I have no photographic evidence I was actually there. You're just going to have to use your imagination to envision me at the wedding (at least until they get their pictures developed, I guess). The wedding day was beautiful, and I wish Colin and Jessica a very happy marriage.

I also used my very short trip (only 3 days) to spend time with my family. I got to visit my parent's Spanish branch where they are serving as missionaries, have a nice Sunday dinner with all the family, and, of course, spend time with all the little munchkins.

Awwwww.

I loved being able to play with my nephews. Though I can text and call my siblings and parents from across the country, talking with little kids just isn't the same unless you're right there with them. My sister's boys are so smart, they can play all sorts of apps on my phone and they are also incredibly creative. Jackson even gave me a birthday present which he had wrapped in some sort of rainbow paper he colored himself.

Thanks to all my family for making it such a wonderful trip. Hope to see you guys again soon!

P.S. Thanks Josie for the pictures!

Haircut

Melyn has been dying for a haircut for quite some time. As beautiful as her long hair is, it's quite a lot to maintain. It takes a lot of washing, a lot of drying, and it gets in the way from time to time. Plus it's a lot of weight to carry on her head! So it was time for a haircut. I went along to document the adventure.

Before

During

Tadaa!

As you can see, the hairstylist did a wonderful job. I was a little sad to see her long hair go (then again, I'm not the one who has to take care of it every day), but Melyn assures me that her hair can always grow back very quickly. All in all, they cut over 14 inches off and donated it to Locks of Love! The new length does look very very good. We celebrated by getting 5 Guys and an eclair afterwards at the local pastry shop.

Birthday

Couple weeks ago I turned a quarter of century old. Sounds old, huh? I feel old when I see a movie or hear a song that came out 15 years ago and I think, "I remember when that was brand new! Man I'm old." By the way, I'm writing this post two weeks late because Melyn and I have been insanely busy with tests, work, and travelling to Utah and back.

My birthday was a good day. Got lots of calls and texts from family, and I would like to thank everyone who sent cards. I only did a moderate amount of studying that day. My self-sacrificing wife took the morning shift that day so she could be with me for the evening. This was especially notable considering she worked the evening shift the day before, so she only got about 4 hours of sleep before having to go to work again.

We decided to go out to dinner, and I got to pick a place where I rarely get to go. You see, back in Utah my family will take you anywhere* to dinner for your birthday (I hope you noticed the asterisk next to the word "anywhere"). Of course, "anywhere" has to be approved by everyone, which means I don't really get my first choice. But being out of state, and since my wife is so self-sacrificing, I got to go to a place where my family would NEVER go. I don't think I can put more emphasis on the word "NEVER". Pizza Hut!

Wow, just looking at that picture makes me hungry to go again. Don't get me wrong, I would much rather have gone with my whole family to dinner even if it meant not going to Pizza Hut, but I'm the only person I know who enjoys their pizza, and I really enjoy it.

We then went to see the movie "Unknown." We both really liked it. Then we went back home for dessert. Since we kind of cheaped-out on dinner, I got a very nice "birthday cake" from the Cheesecake factory.

Mmm, we still haven't finished it yet! Thanks for reading, I know it's hard to pay attention to our blog when we don't update often and we have so much competition from blogs with cute, adorable children.

FYI

Just so you know, I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  I will update the blog when I have a day off, but no sooner.  Work's been insane and I'm going insane!