new fitness phrase

extreme makeover: weight loss edition is a new show. similar to it's home counter part, and as the title says, an extreme makeover happens and lives are changed. while on a biggest loser hiatus i decided to give this a try. i have some opinions on the show, but that's not what this post is about so i'll skip those.

this is alex. he was a morbidly obese 23 year old. as you can see, after one year he's pretty fit and trim. lost about half his body weight.
however, he struggled at the beginning. grasping to find real motivation during a workout, he suddenly powered through and got a burst of energy. when chris, the trainer, asked him what happened to make such a difference, alex replied:

i told my legs to suck it.

pretty much the best fitness phrase i've heard in a long time. i think we all have the things we tell our self while huffing through a rough work out. i know i do. some are not fit to print. this is my new favorite. i can't wait to use it the next time i want to quit. it's just mind over matter, after all. hey, legs, suck it. or biceps or triceps or abs or back...well, you get the idea.

ajg redux

almost 3 years into marriage, i finally changed my name.

yep, all those who have been confused...
*who have had to write new checks because they wrote my non existent married name...
*who wrote letters to a married name and confused the postal carrier...
*the ward clerk who kept making reimbursement checks to someone who didn't exist...
*family members left scratching their heads...
*persons scattered throughout the last 3 years who have given me funny looks because i couldn't remember which last name to give...

your time has come.

with aaron's residency established and my DL up for renewal, i bit the bullet. cause no one, i repeat, none alive want to visit a ca dmv office more than absolutely necessary. there are still a few hurdles to jump, like the fact that my flight this weekend is booked under my old last name. any TSA employees reading this please ignore that last statement. still need to get a new passport. yucky.

but, otherwise, it's done. aaron is so excited. i think he was beginning to have his doubts it would ever happen. with the same initials and not having to change my signature, i lucked out.

a tip for all those who will be changing their name in the future and are uncertain about leaving their given name. just live with 2 names for a few years and you'll be glad to give up one of them. it gets confusing.

xoxo,
aimee gough

choc-o-lat

last night, as i was waiting in line for my weightlifting class at the gym, i had a pre-workout snack.

of chocolate.

halfway through the nugget i realized others were looking. and probably thinking.

i didn't want to know what they were thinking. but, looking they were.

it was dark chocolate and had almonds in it. a perfect snack. healthy and tasty.

in fact, i'm eating another as i type.

it's not a problem until you try to stop, right? and i don't plan on stopping. so we're good.

residency!

we received a letter and aaron's new permanent resident card in the mail this week, stating that his conditional status has been removed!

basically this means him being in america is no longer dependent on me and we don't have to go to LA to be interviewed. phew, that would not have been fun. i've had this monkey on my back since before we've been married. feels good to be one step closer!

we can finally stop taking monthly pictures to document our relationship! in 3 years he can apply for citizenship. i don't even want to think about what that entails!

thanks to the many who have helped us along the way!

baked buffalo chicken pasta

i made this last night for aaron's father's day dinner. with his love of wings in mind, i happily plucked this from a cooking blog i've been exploring lately. if you remotely like wings or chicken or pasta or cheese or green onions and cilantro, you should make it. no super tricky ingredients and it yields a good amount. i believe it's mild enough for kids, but adults could kick it up a notch by drizzling on more wing sauce once it's on your plate. try it, i think you'll like it!

sd county fair

yesterday we went to the county fair. i absolutely love fairs. seeing all the animals, cheap goods being hawked, and heart clogging foods makes me happy. each year we check out the demolition derby and it didn't disappoint this year. i feel so white trash cheering while cars are crashing into one another and catching on fire, but whatev.
about to dig into a county fair cinnamon roll. last year i saved my roll until we got home and it fell on the ground as i got out of the car. i made sure that wasn't about to happen this year. these rolls date back to my childhood. that is a sincere smile only butter, dough, and cinnamon can bring.
chowing down on a huge roasted corn. yum, yum. aaron tried to get the secret of the roasting out of the workers, but they wouldn't budge. the ones we make never taste this good. i could have eaten at least 3 more. note how all the pictures of the fair revolve around food.
aaron is whipping up a video of the demolition derby so hopefully i'll be posting that soon. with the fair under my belt, it feels like summer is right around the corner!

yosemite

we went to yosemite a few weeks ago. i made the reservations for early in the year so we could see the waterfalls in full effect and to work around aaron's summer school schedule. old man winter made sure we saw the waterfalls at their glory. he also made sure we could play in the snow. not cool. with a weather report straight out of december, we decided to go anyway.
here's a snapshot of us entering the valley and stopping at tunnel view. this is a famous place to take pictures because you can see many of the landmarks in one frame (el capitan, bridalveil falls, and half dome). although we had smiles on our faces it was about 40 degrees outside. we look fondly upon this image and try to forget the rest of our ill fated trip.
this is yosemite falls. fed solely by snowmelt, it was raging. the season had delivered a record breaking 300% snowpack, so the rivers were pumping. a trip to yosemite isn't complete to me without a major hike. with granite steps all along the trail, this is the equivalent of hiking 2 empire state buildings. there are some hair raising views at the top since you can literally walk to the edge of the falls. i loved it. it was such an amazing hike.
note the dry ground. this is hours before the rains began and the floods came up.
see the magnificent view from glacier point. or so i'm told. we took the hour drive on switchbacks to see the entire valley from this one vista. too bad i didn't realize a storm meant the entire valley would be fogged in at this elevation. with fog everywhere and snow on the ground i had to laugh or i'd cry. this was pretty much the theme of the trip...
...including when, in the first 5 minutes of arrival, 2 squirrels had gotten into our suv, ripped into my sealed bag of chocolate chip cookies, snacked on our cheez-its and pooped on the seat. luckily it was a rental. i felt like the grizwolds time and time again. oh well, they can't all be perfect, right?
aaron posted a video of our trip on his facebook page, if you're so inclined.

lovely

in may i took a week off to visit my family in utah. the week didn't turn out exactly as planned, but it was still a great visit. i was able to see most of my family and get this shot as i entered the temple. what a wonderful place.

new art

while in slc last month, i stopped by the grand daddy distribution center and picked up a few goods.
i found a delightful selection of frames thrown together from left over scraps of temple artwork. as such, you can buy a frame kit ($10) and you install all the hardware and such. oh, and they're very cheap. like $14. that's where i come in. i snagged the gold one below. please, please ignore the weirdo in the frame. this is the one time she is being goofy on camera and is paying for it. i think she just woke up from a nap. oh, and they have an amazing collection of artwork for only $1 a print! i hemmed and hawed and ultimately fell in love with this one.

then i proceeded to pack it in my suitcase and had to bat a few eyelashes at curbside check in so the counter dude would allow my over the weight limit luggage to pass.

i adore the new artwork in our home. i've wanted a nice picture of the Savior for some time and i love that i got it for only $25!

ice cream cake recipe

per request, here is a link to the ice cream cake recipe i used.

and, if i may, here is some advice:

use the size of pan specified. i used a weensy bit smaller one and paid the price.
the layer order is there for a reason. stick to it. unlike me.
unless you're a major chocolate lover, half the ganache. it's rich stuff.
let the ice cream soften on the counter at least 30 minutes before trying to spread it.
eat more roasted broccoli.

that last one is general life advice. i'm trying to spread the message of roasted broccoli.

enjoy!!

partay time

i threw a little shindig for aaron's birthday. it included all the man food staples (and birthday boy wishes); pizza, soda, and chips. luckily some lady friends saved the day and brought a salad.

i believe to the delight of many parents, it was at a park. none of the little ones are pictured, but imagine their squeals in the foreground.
aaron found that baby on the side of the road and decided to bring it to the party.

dew dew + ag = luv.

ag + ag = ag2 & tru luv

cake + ice cream + chocolate = stomach ache? i'm done with the math.

aaron wanted an ice cream cake, but after seeing the price of an ice cream cake for 25 i said, no way, mama. i'm making one. i made three. very rich recipe, i think i'll cut back on the chocolate ganache next time. but tasty! each had pound cake, oreos, and ganache, but i did a strawberry & vanilla, mint chip and chocolate, and coffee with chocolate chip cookie dough. yum.

pardon their appearance. i almost pulled all my hair out trying to make 3 ice cream cakes at once. i'm not sure who i thought i was, but i'm not an ice cream cake chef! after many meltdowns (get it? meltdown?) the cakes were done and lessons were learned. they'll be purdier next time.

fun girls.

some random kids on a bench. oh wait, i think those are the baby's parents. plus another in a sling.

thanks everyone for coming and celebrating with us!