Going to the fair!

This weekend we went to the AZ State Fair and we had so much fun. Someday I'm going to have to take Robby to the Puyallup Fair in Washington, because I still think its the best :)

This picture is for my mom. They only had these 3 baby pigs, no big ones!

This is also for my mom, this baby pig was stuck in the food box! So cute!

We shared a corn dog and a $5 lemonade. Oh fair food and your ridiculous prices. It sure was yummy though!

Why I love what I do

I don't ever want to forget this great feeling, so I'm going to just put it out there. This week was pretty busy for Chandler School District Food and Nutrition Department (where I currently am for my internship). We put on a wellness expo for all of the school district employees. It was such an amazing experience to see this expo behind the scenes and all of the work that goes into it. The district really cares about wellness and it is a great time for me to be part of it.

Here's where my excitement comes in. When I first started my rotation at the beginning of September, the director told me that they wanted me to teach a class, which would be mandatory for all food service employees (about 250). The class would cover a few basic nutrition principles, including: understanding/reading a food label, proper portion control, decreasing saturated fat and sodium in home cooking and safe preparation of fresh fruits and vegetables. I began preparing my class as soon as I started there.

Tuesday was the big day. I taught my class 3 times to a total of about 340 people. It was such an amazing experience! The reason for that is that after the class I had quite a few people come up to me or find me during the day to tell me that I made a difference and that I taught them something new. They told me that they planned to make changes in their lives based on the things they learned in the class. All day, the other dietitians and the director were telling me that they were hearing positive things about my class all over the expo. I felt so good all day. This was the first time I ever really received validation for the things that I was doing from an audience or clientele. My first experience counseling at WIC was good and interesting, but there weren't really any clients that seemed grateful for what I was teaching them. It felt like they were there to get their food vouchers and get out. I am so grateful to have received the thanks and the kind messages after my class, because I felt like I truly made a difference. It feels so good to help others. What a blessing it is.

Pumpkin Patch Love

Before we went to hang out with some friends from our ward, we decided to make our way over to the pumpkin patch! Every time we drive past it from the grocery store, I look at it and mention to Robby that I would like to go there. So, on Saturday afternoon he suggested that we head over there. It was about 100 degrees...yes in October. But we had fun! We can't wait until we can do these kinds of things with our kids someday!

Robby made friends with some piglets!

And I made friends with a cow.

And we went on a hay ride. Don't worry pumpkin patch, we will be back again someday.

Our weakness for good deals...

Last week I knew that I wanted to go get a pizookie (definition: hot cookie with ice cream on top) so I was looking online for the nearest BJ's restaurant and I saw an ad for a deal they have going on right now: $19.95 for 2 salads, a pizza and a pizookie! I sent Robby a text and told him that is what we were going to do.

We love spontaneous dates! They make life fun. 

Then we went to Target to walk around (and use our coupon for free eggs) and this is what happened:

It's okay though...I'm used to it. I wandered over to the books and looked through The Pioneer Woman's Cookbook. 

Robby had his fun, I had mine.

We Love Smashburger.

We used to go to Smashburger all the time in Provo, and were sad to leave it. We were so excited when we found out that it is here in AZ too! We looked forward to it all week, when we planned a date for it. The only let down was the lack of fry sauce (one thing we miss about Utah, good thing we can buy it at Walmart). Anyways, it was a great date!

Despite the smile, we were sad when we finished. Until next time!

Oh and then we shared a banana split from Coldstone. Amazing? Yes.

I love dates with my favorite person in the world. Lucky for me, I can have them whenever I want :)

It's beginning to look alot like....Fall?

It's October 1st, which means I brought out all of the fall decorations today! Thanks to my mom and grandma I have a nice little collection.

I loved decorating today! Since I was in the fall mood, I made some amazing pumpkin spice cookies that I found on a blog I follow, PB Fingers. They are so addicting and only 2 ingredients!!

Here's all you need:
1 can pumpkin
1 spice cake mix
Just mix them together,

and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. I added cream cheese frosting, because everything needs cream cheese frosting.

They are so cake-like and delicious. I may have eaten 2 right out of the oven (well when they were cool enough to frost). I especially love all the vitamin A and fiber from the pumpkin and the absence of added oil or butter. Make these...you won't regret it. Bonus? They make your house smell like fall.

Favorite thing from conference today: Look up. I love President Monson and his optimism. It inspires me.

I Love Dietetics

On September 24th I went to Arizona's School Nutrition Association conference. I learned more about MyPlate and how to incorporate it with MyPyramid in teaching. I also went to a class for managers about conflict resolution. I am loving food service more and more! Oh and the food show wasn't so bad either. Check out my SWAG!

Robby was so excited about all of the snacks I brought home. We are set for quite a while! Well, until the food show I'm going to next week. Did I say that I love dietetics?