Shower me with the love...

I went to Sabrina's shower this morning and it was so fun. We pretty much just hung out and chatted, my favorite things to do at showers. Then all of the married women went around and gave advice to the soon-to-be married girl. Some attendees gave great advice and I wanted to tell every one about it. So it gave me the idea to post the marriage advice I received at my shower and ask if anyone received any advice they think would be worth sharing.
1. Stay faithful to your religion first and foremost
2. You don't have to be the winner in every argument.
3. As Winston Churchill advised, "never give up!"
4. Keep all of your thoughts positive and your words uplifting.
5. You always have time to talk things through.
6. I all else fails, go shopping.
7. Do you want to be happy or do you want to be right? Happiness always!!
8. Always give him a kiss goodbye.
9. Marriage is not a matter of romance, but more and anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of your companion.
Everyone else said, don't go to bed angry, I am not sure how feel about that one... If you have any brilliant advice, I would still love to hear it!

Congratulations Sabrina!! I hope you and Dustin are so happy together!!

So you think you can DANCE DANCE DANCE

So I love "So You Think You Can Dance", seriously I look forward to it all week. This is my first season watching it and I started because my best friend Natalie's dance partner is on it and he's amazing. In case you are wondering it's Mark. I haven't met him or anything but he's an incredible dancer.

(That's Nat and Mark). I don't vote but I really want Mark to at least be in the top 5. Chelsea is my favorite girl now, since Kourtni was eliminated last week :(

Side note, I miss my friends. For the first time in, well ever, I have nothing but free time and I have no one to hang out with. Thank goodness Ambyr and my Mom also have free time to chat with me on the phone, but I need someone to hit up the pool with me... Christie why'd you have to leave??

No one wants soup in the summer time...

No one, besides Sam that is. He begged me to make some Chicken and Broccoli Cheese Soup. I thought I'd share the recipe in case anyone else is craving soup in June.

Chicken and Broccoli Cheese Soup

2-3 cooked chicken breasts
4 c chicken broth
4 c broccoli (chopped into small pieces)
¾ c butter
¾ c flour
1 quart half and half
1 c shredded cheddar cheese

1. Cook 2-3 chicken breasts and chop into small pieces (boiled chicken might work well)
2. Bring 4 cups chicken broth to a boil. Add broccoli, simmer 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. White Sauce: Melt butter in a sauce pan. Whisk in flour until smooth over medium heat. Pour in half and half. Stir until it thickens, then gradually add cheese. Stir until cheese is melted.
4. Bring broccoli and broth to a simmer again and slowly pour in the white cheese sauce. Continue to stir until thickens. Add some coarse black pepper.
5. Add cooked chicken, and heat until chicken is warm again.

Happy Birthday Mom!

I just wanted to wish my mom a happy birthday. She is growing up so fast... And mom, congratulations on your new job. It's going to be a great year.

It's all Gravy

So I have been trying for so long to make a tasty white gravy. I have asked every cook I know how they do it. I watch the food network (converted by Christie), I read cookbooks, but I have never been able to master the art of gravy making. Last week I made an attempt and it came out tasting like flour and it was super lumpy.
So today I decided to give it another go so I called my Granny who is an excellent cook. She is one of those grandmothers who makes everything from scratch, grinds her own wheat, and never measures anything, so who better to learn from? I had her explain the process to me in detail and then I kept her on the phone while I cooked and what do you know, it turned out perfectly! Here is how I did it:

Keep all of the chicken grease in the pan from the cooked chicken(assuming you made chicken).
Add about a tablespoon of butter, and make a rue by heating the butter to a strong simmer, then adding enough flour to absorb the butter/oil mix, and stirring vigorously over med/high heat.
Remove the pan from heat for 1-2 minutes.
Add a splash of milk and mix well with a fork.
Return to heat.
Add a little more milk and stir again until mixed well.
Continue to add milk until you get the correct consistency you are looking for.
If you make it a bit too runny, stir on med/high heat until it thickens up.

YUM Thanks Granny!

Ode to my Tide Stick

Have you ever had the commercial experience? Where something happens and you think to yourself, "I totally feel like I'm in a commercial for ________ right now." Well this happened to me just the other day.
I went to BYU where Sam is currently attending school and one of the counselors agreed to give me a little resume help. He is a prominent business man in Provo, and a well respected career advisor. He was running a bit late and as I sat in the waiting room I found two stains on my cute seersucker capris. It looked like one was chocolate, and the other was pen. I grabbed my little tide stick from my purse and started to color on my pants and voila! Both spots instantly disappeared! They also dried in time for my meeting.
Then about an hour later I was at home eating a burrito with salsa, while wearing a white top (dun dun duuuuun). You guessed it; I spilled salsa on my white top. Again I grabbed my Tide Stick and again the stains dissolved.
I love my Tide Stick. I know not every one is a believer but it sure saved my outfit :)

Music to my ears

I have heard a lot of controversy about putting auto play music on blogs. A past associate once told me how annoying they found music on blogs; then again that person tended to be overly opinionated and easily irritated (you know the type) so I didn't give it a second thought. Then my sister Ambyr, whose opinion is significant, was reading something about blog etiquette and it said that music should not be posted on blogs because it can be a nuisance to blog readers.

Now it's no secret how much I love my music. I feel like I always have a million things on my mind and somehow when I turn on my music, it gives me clarity. In fact my favorite part of my blog is my play list; I probably add one or two songs to it every single day. I also love hearing what music my friends and family members put on their blogs (accept when people put "Bubbly" or "Love Song" on their page, barf). Music gives blogs some personality.

So for those of you who do not appreciate my music, feel free not to visit! SamlovesHeather does not want you here. Just kidding. But by all means, you may lower the volume on your computer because my music isn't going anywhere.