New Home

Oh dear. My last post was in January? Dang it. Well, I do have a pretty good excuse. Well, I believe so. Around that time, Cory and I started seriously looking into houses. Our lease ended April 30, and we did not want to stay in that apartment any longer.

We found that house middle of March, and decided it was the one for us. Built in 1950, the house needed some work, but nothing too big, and the foundation was sound, and that was our main concern. While we were looking at it, the previous owners were living in it. So I couldn't be as nosey as I wanted to be. But they were living in it, so it couldn't be too bad, right? Yeah, well.... haha.

We closed on the house on April 12, She said they were going to clean up the house that afternoon so we wouldn't move into a messy house. Lies. After work, I rushed over to our new home, so excited to get moved in and get started on making it pretty. I walk in the house, and it looked nice, and I open the cabinets.  (If you have a weak stomach, you might not want to read on.) They were so nasty. Dead bugs, bug poop, a very thick layer of dust.... they were living here, right? They were so bad, we had to vacuum out most of the cabinets and drawers. We cleaned with bleach, primed and painted all cabinets and drawers. Making sure to leave no trace of the nastiness that was there before.

Now it's time for the Fridge.... How can I put into words how nasty this fridge was? Well, on the inside of the door, and on the walls, it looked like they melted caramel, and smeared it all over, and since it was cold, it took forever to get it off. There was a layer of molding food smeared and crumbled on the shelves. The shelves are glass, so you can see through them, well, you are supposed to, if they were clean. I cleaned the shelves only to find the metal thing holding the shelf in place was sandwiching food between it and the self. It was like this on ALL the selves. What looked like cherry pie filling without the cherries was splattered all over the fridge. All over. The drawers in the fridge had bits of rotting fruit in them. There were dead bugs in there. Not from being stuck in the fridge where it's cold, no, they were dead because they stepped into the smeared caramel, and splattered cherry pie filling. After taking all the shelves, drawers out and pretty much anything that can come out, I bleached the whole thing about 5 times. But as I was down to last little bit. I was almost done with it. It was almost clean. I had worked on this fridge for a week and a half, all by myself. Almost throwing up in the process many times. I get to this last little bit, and I found one more bug stuck to the red nasty crap. That was it. I couldn't do it any more. I am about to break out in tears (probably a little high from the bleach) I gag so violently that I thought I was actually going to be sick. I call Cory in the room and I can barely get the words out because I am concentrating on not vomiting and making a new mess to clean up, I say "I can't do this anymore. I can't, I am so close, and I can't do it. You have to finish it." and I leave the room. I am so angry at this point. Why on Earth would someone leave a fridge like that? Their cabinets and drawers like that? How could they LIVE like that? They were living in the house up until we signed off? How could they open their cabinets, see dead bugs and say "Rats. more dead bugs, oh well, time to make pancakes." or look in the fridge and see all the rotting food, not in containers (because I know that happens to everyone) but on the walls and shelves, and drawers and think "no big deal, there is no way I can get sick from this, so I won't clean it up."

And then I go to the bathroom. The toilet and tub were cleaned, which was a surprise after seeing the kitchen. It was actually the drawers in the bathroom that they didn't bother to clean up. I'm pretty sure that one of their kids got a tooth paste tube and squeezed it all out in the drawer and no one bothered to clean it up.

I know I sound harsh. I've tried to think of way that would defend them. Maybe they forgot about it, their lives were busy and they never got around to it. But when your moving out, packing, wouldn't you see that and think "I should clean this up for the next owners."

That was the worst of it. That was my rant. Right now, we are in the process of priming and paining the living room. We planted our veggie garden and the plants are coming up. So excited about that. We have a big yard. 1.3 acres. It's really long and skinny, and we love it. There is still a lot to do with the house, but now that the nasty stuff is over with, I'm looking forward to doing it.

Thanks for reading, sorry if I made you sick to your stomach. Stay tuned, and remember God loves you.

Turkey!

So, remember my new years goal about getting better at making dinners? Well, I made my very first turkey. I was nervous about making a turkey, because I was pretty sure that my first turkey would be really dry. With these worries, I looked up about 10 different ways to make juicy turkey. Luckily, I picked the right way. I brined the turkey for a day in salt water. Buttered it, and put that sucker in the oven. It came out perfect.

I am so proud of myself. I really thought this was going to be a train wreck. What is better then turkey sandwiches? I made fresh mash potatoes, and Cory made the gravy. Mmmmm. I also made Green bean casserole as well. Easy, but I did it. Man, I am the best wife haha.


In addition to the turkey, I made steak. I've been wanting to try this for a while. One day, I wanted to go out to eat with Cory, but he didn't want to. We compromised that we would buy steak and I would make it. Let's just say, it was perfectly done. Medium Rare to perfection. Let's just say this will be happening again. :) Pretty huh? I heated the skillet up, added olive oil, then put the steak on for about 4 minutes, then flipped and cooked the other side for about 3 minutes. YOU ONLY FLIP ONCE!!! When checking to see if it's cooked enough, the best way is to feel the steak, if you can't tell, then you puncture the steak. The problem with that, is if it's not done, and you want to cook it longer, juices leave the steak, and it becomes dry. Good luck. Let me know of ways you prepare your steak.




This is all. Hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned! Remember, you are a child of God!

Happy New Years!

OK, so I'm a little late, but that seems to be how I am. What did I do for New Years? I spent it with some friends up in Joplin area. We went to see Les Mis, and then spent the rest of the evening talking or watching Downton Abbey. It was very relaxing and enjoyable.

2013 is going to be amazing! These are my goals for this year:

• Get into shape.   I know I share this with everyone else in the world, but I'm hoping that I will be one of the few that succeeds. 
• Become better at making dinner. I'm very good at making desserts, but with my goal above, I should get better at making good, healthy dinners.
• Earn enough "fun money" for another trip to Florida.
• Buy a house. This apartment is getting a little too small. Plus, I would love the spend the money on something that will be mine. Not just on rent. 
• Have Cory and I finish the Book of Mormon together. This is not our strong suit. But we are working on it.

• Visit the temple more than last year.

 I'll leave it there. Better not make me too overwhelmed. I'm excited for this year. It should be an amazing year! Wish me luck on my list, and I will do the same for you. :)

Have a great day, Stay tuned, and remember that you are loved!!!

Clam Chowder

As I mentioned in the last post, December is a hectic time for us. Anniversary, birthday, and Christmas. Our 3 year anniversary was on the 18th. I told Cory that we could count our Florida trip as our anniversary present to each other. But since we have friends who share our anniversary date with us, we went to see the Hobbit on the 15th with them. Great movie!

I worked on the 18th, but Cory took the day off. So when I came home, he was all dressed up looking all fine and sexy -he took me out for lunch. I wasn't expecting this at all. He is so sweet. But for dinner, I wanted to make something special. Clam Chowder. I'm pretty proud of myself. This is the recipe:

Clam Chowder

3 cans (6.5oz) minced clams -I used chopped clams
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced celery
2 cups cubed potatoes
1 cup diced carrots -I didn't have any carrots, so I didn't use any, and it was still good!
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1 quart half & half -I used evaporated milk
2 TBSP red wine vinegar -I didn't have any, so I used balsamic vinegar, but you can also use apple cyder vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Directions

1. Drain juice from clams into a large skillet over the onions, celery, potatoes and carrots. Add water to cover, and cook over medium heat until tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in cream and stir constantly until thick and smooth. (It will get VERY thick) Stir in vegetables and clam juice. Heat through, but do not boil.
3. Stir in clams just before serving. If they cook too much they get tough. When clams are heated through, stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.
4. If it is too thick, add milk.

 

When I made this, I wasn't expecting the butter, cream, and flour mix to get so thick, so I sacrificed my potatoes and celery because I was afraid it was getting too thick. I think next time I will let the veggie mix cook for a while before I start the flour and cream mix. But it still ended up delicious.

 

 I love this recipe, but I want to explore a little with other recipes. If you have a clam chowder recipe that you love, please let me know. Also, if I find one that we like more, I will post it. 

 

 Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas! Stay tuned.

I fail

So, this is the biggest fail of my life. Last post was before our trip to Florida. That's sad. So..... This is going to be a BIG update.

September: Florida was amazing. We really want to go back. We have a goal of visiting all 50 states together throughout our life, but, we liked Florida so much, we might keep going there. Since we came back I keep dreaming of the beach. It happens pretty much every night. I miss it so much. The beach is breath taking, and the same can be said about the harbor. We went on a dolphin tour, which was amazing. I had never seen a dolphin before, and I could not get enough of it. We went deep sea fishing. 5 hours on sea. Loved it. I could live on sea. I didn't want to dock (except for the fact that we had fish we wanted to eat). We held a baby alligator. We spent a lot of time on the beach. Definitely want to go back.

October: There was General Conference which is always amazing. One of my good friends, Robyn, spent that time with us. We made apple pie, went on walks, and what not. Then, my parents came down! I missed them so much! They stayed for the weekend, and it was so much fun! We did a whole puzzle in one weekend, it was demanding, but lots of fun. We made pie....again. Went to the Amish Cheese House and got some super awesome cheese. It was a very fun weekend!!! Halloween comes, and Robyn comes again. We spend our Halloween watching Harry Potter and drinking Butter beer.

November: I think the only thing notable was thanksgiving. Yum. Cory had to work Thanksgiving day, and some of his siblings had to as well, so we celebrated it the the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I love family! It was so nice seeing Cory's family again. After our celebration, Cory had to go to work, but I stayed up and my sister in law and I had a Twilight movie marathon. Watched all movies in 2 days. Way too much twilight. But it was fun. Mainly it was the company, but we did enjoy ourselves. We went to the theater to watch the last movie with our mother in law and other sister in law. There were moments in the movie where we just cracked up, and the only ones in the theater laughing. I think it was mainly too much exposure to twilight.

December: I have a job!! I love it! I have never had a job that I truly enjoy, but this one I do. I substitute teach. So far I have done elementary and high school. Did I say that I love it? Because I do! My money is fun money, and can you guess what we are saving up for? Another trip to Florida. :) This month also brings our anniversary, which we share with our dear friends, Mike and Robyn, so we are celebrating together by going to see The Hobbit! So excited. My birthday follows, so that's sweet. Then Christmas!!! Cory and I aren't doing much for Christmas. He has to work, and we already spent a lot for Black Friday, so we are only doing one small gift each other. Other news, my friend, Robyn, is leaving me. Her husband got a job in Kansas City (Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!), so they are moving. Bitter/sweet. I'm so excited for them to start living more comfortably, but we will miss them terribly.

Anyway, that's it. Hopefully I will be better about updating this more often. Have a wonderful December. Merry Christmas! And remember, God loves you!

It's been a while.

Wow. I haven't updated in quite some time. Sorry about that. These are my excuses: I broke our computer charger. Those things are pretty hard to break without cutting them with scissors, but I found the only way to break it with only a table.

This is what has been going on in the Compton home.

Cory and I are going to Florida this Friday, and I am so excited! It will be my first time to a warm beach. We have been wanting to go there since we got married. But, if you know my husband, you know that he does not spend money easily. He his the most frugal man I know. But we are finally doing this. I have been dreaming about our trip, and the dreams involved witches, piranhas, sharks, and a TON of tropical fish. So, I don't really know what to expect.

These last couple of months have been really stressful for me. I have always been a pushover, and a people pleaser. I have no problem standing up for other people, but when it comes to myself, I have the hardest time standing up for me. You have no idea how hard it is. After high school, I never had any problems with it. I was getting better. I can now stand up to people who respect me and I respect them. Well, a while ago, I was put in a situation that started out fine, but has turned for the worse. I started getting walked all over. I didn't realize at first, but when I did, it was like flash backs to high school. I have the hardest time standing up to this person. It has made me angry, every time I speak to this person. I hate those feelings, so I had Cory give me a blessing, and it helped for a while, but those harsh feelings came back. Cory and I started talking about this situation for a while now, and we decided that I am experiencing this to I and grow a back bone. I need to learn to respect myself enough to stand up to those I don't respect. This is terrifying to me. Just thinking about it is making my hands all clammy. But I have been given this opportunity several different times, and I didn't do anything about it. I will this time. Luckily I have Cory to help me. He will be my crutch for a while.

Along with that, there is Obama-care. More like Obama-stupid. Cory is a Physical Therapy Assistant. Most of the people he works with are on Medicare. Well, thanks to Obama, Medicare is going down the toilet. They have already made the first big change to Cory's job which will pretty much cut his hours in half. If they keep this up, he won't really have a job. So, pretty much this vacation is our last hurrah before we start penny pinching (like we haven't been doing that already) And it also means that I need to find a job. Well, I don't have a car, and we will be moving, and hopefully away from this town, so either it would be a long commute, or I would quit. But I also need to get a degree. But in what? I have a few ideas, but if Medicare continues like this, those ideas won't do any good. Ugh.

On a brighter note, Fall is coming! (HOORAY!) I love the Fall! I love the colors, and style, the temperature, everything. I love wearing scarves, so Fall is the time that I get to get those out. Also, November is almost here, that means Thanksgiving and Black Friday! And Cyber Monday! After November we get December, and that means, mine and Cory's 3rd anniversary (and our dear friends 2nd anniversary), my 22nd birthday, and Christmas. December is pretty fantastic!

Anyway, enough for today. Stay tuned, and remember that God loves you!

Another Odd Dream

Wow, it's been a while since I have been on my blog. The Olympics distracted me. That's a good excuse, right?

I decided to write my dream that I just woke up from. So strange.

The Ranch  by: Sara Compton

It was decided that we would spend our day helping Mr. Hanks with his ranch. He was old, and not able to take care of his large ranch as easily by himself. We pull up and find a very large pond behind his house. We arrived early, so we decided to take a dip in the pond before starting work.

Cory, of course, wanted to fish, and our good friend Mike joined him. Meanwhile, Mike's wife, Robyn joined me. We swam trying to find as many sharp rocks as we could and make a dam. My younger brother, Daniel, along with James, Thomas, and my dad, climbed trees and jumped in the pond.

We were having a grand ol' time when Mr. Hanks came to round us all up. He got in a small boat to retrieve Robyn and myself. We climbed aboard and waited to hit shore. It took a long time. The pond had grown twice it's size, and the tail end of the boat was sinking. Not making a big deal about this, Robyn and I sat there as the water rose to our shoulders. Soon, the boat was no good to us. Robyn was swimming, trying to keep up with the boat, while I had hung on and was being pulled. Out of nowhere, a shark starts chasing the boat. Terrified, I try to climb back into the boat (the tail end still under  water). Robyn was right behind me, trying, as well, to get back to the boat. The shark swims up next to us, threatening us as he bumped his nose against us.

"Let go of the boat and swim behind the shark. He'll leave you alone, he just wants to be in front." Mr. Hank yelled over our panicked screams. Swim behind the shark? Is he nuts? Let go of the boat? No, I must have heard him wrong. I looked back at Robyn, and the look on her face made it clear that I did not hear wrong.

With a prayer, I let go of the boat and  swam around the shark's front to get to it's rear. Big mistake. Angy that I had gotten in front of him, the shark opened it's large mouth and chomps down. Luckily I swim super fast and just missed being eaten for lunch. Instead, the shark had bitten down on the boat, taking off the whole end of it.

We reached the shore without anymore close calls. Mr. Hanks was right, the shark just wanted to be in front.

"I need help with some animals, I have so many, and I can't keep track of them." Mr. Hanks said as we started walking toward a large yellowed field. The field was empty except a woman in the center. She appeared to be eating the grass like a deer. Intrigued, I walked closer, with my arm extended. The girl-deer slowly walked to me.

"Isn't she a beauty? We found her in the woods with a broken leg. I mended it, and she's stayed here ever since. Her name is Wendy."

"Your animals are people?" I asked. I hadn't seen any another sign telling me different.

"No! That would be crazy. No, we clone Wendy, and turn her clones into different animals." He said matter of factly.

Suddenly, the field was full of animals. Cows, horses, pigs, dogs, any animal you would ever find on a farm was in that field. I walked to the horses and cults, at the same time a cult, acting much like a puppy, ran to me and licked me on the cheek. The more I petted the small animal, the more snugly it got.

We were assigned chores. I was to feed the horses and cults milk and tuna. Robyn was supposed to get the tuna, either by fishing for it in the pond or going to buy some. Mike was to work in navigation (after being awake, I don't know what use that was). Cory was to jump of the trampoline with the chickens, and then make pillows out of the feathers that had fallen out. Daniel was to take care of the dogs. Thomas to tell jokes to the cows. Jame and my dad were to make hats for the roosters.

As I sat on the bunk bed with the horses around me, waiting for their milk. I let only one on the bed with me, and that was the cult that had licked me. I had named her Sandy. Once I had finished feeding the horses the milk, I went to find Robyn for the tuna. I found her with Mike. As Mike worked hard, navigating us all, Robyn found a computer and started playing games.

"Robyn, where is the tuna?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah, um, I didn't get the tuna." She replied, not moving her eyes from the computer.

"But I need the tuna. That was your job. You failed us all."

"I'm just so tired of doing what's right all the time. I decided to be a rebel and not get the tuna." She looked at me and gave me a smirk, then turned back to her game.

"Robyn, if you don't do your part, how are we going to trust each other?" I was near tears now.

"Sara, don't you see? This is their was of using us. Their plan is to clone us, just like Wendy. But if we are bad, they wont want us. I'm saving all our lives."

Whatever. I stormed out of there. She can't be right. They wouldn't clone me. I needed that tuna. I went to find Daniel, and together, we went to the lake. It had turned into a kitchen, and we sat on the counter tops. Knowing the water was under the tile, I threw a rock down on the floor, and sure enough, it make a small hole, and water started to come up. The floor had started to become transparent, and I was able to see the huge tuna swimming beneath me. I forgot my fishing pole. The only way I could catch them was to use my leg. I knew I had to get the fish, but I was afraid of them swallowing my leg.

"Sara, I know it's scary, but it needs to be done. I would do it, but you are the only one with legs that taste like marshmallows." Daniel encouraged. He was right. Daniel couldn't do it. The tuna would hate his bread tasting legs.

After catching a few tuna, we decided to go back. The horses were probably hungry. But the only was to get back was to walk across the floor, and it was starting to sink. The shark was still in there, and I didn't want to risk my life again. Slowly, Daniel and I walked across the tile. We couldn't step on the blue tiles, because they weren't tiles at all, but traps made by the shark. The floor started sinking further and further, and I could see the shark and his punk alligator friends. We would have to run.

And then I woke up. I hope you enjoyed this dream. It sounds silly, but while I was dreaming it, it was terrifying and frustrating. It was so real.

Stay tuned. And remember, God loves you!