Updates updates updates and Hong Kong (1st Installment)

I not working today!! So time for a long over due update!! I can do all of my errands and other things later right?? :)

But we wanted you to know that we are doing VERY well. It is SO nice to have Dustin back after his long stay and for things to be settling down at work, a

nd just enjoying being married.

Things with starting the scribe program at Prince William ER finally seems to be taking shape and getting a bit more organized. i have one scribe this week who officially started on his own today!! Yeah!! And another starts on her own next week!! Yeah 2 trained and just 6 more to go and then time to hire more....But I'm getting things organized and finally down to working not insane hours, which is a relief since I'm seriously sick of being away from my husband now that he's actually home!!

Just after we got back from Hong Kong we both were having troubles with Jet lag so I couldn't sleep past 12:30am one night and got up, and when i made my way back to bed at 3:30am Dustin was wide awake and so we got up and made pumpkin squares together and then went for a quick run while they cooked. Dustin is trying to help me get back into shape since I complain about it all the time and has been wonderful in making me put those running shoes on after I get home from work and going for a little jog. Some is better than nothing right??

We also got called to be the nursery leaders and spoke last week in church. We are now known as the people who love children, football and canyoneering. Awesome!! And believe it or not there are some super super cute kids in nursery, which makes up for those that I'm SO ready to be in Sunbeams in January or wish they were going....bu

t honestly it is a fun calling. We get to play kitchen, do puzzles, read, sing, eat snacks, blow bubbles, and play with a parachute at church and then wrestle to get kids to sit still during their lesson. Needless to say we're trying to make sure we get a lot out of Sacrament Meeting since it is our only spiritual feeding we get on Sunday.

I think the problem is I don't know what to up date you on first. But I'd like you to know that you would be very proud of me and the fact that I tried very hard to take pictures at our recent adventures since I know you'd all want to see them!

! So we'll start with a bit of Hong Kong.....

Here is a very excited Dustin waiting for me at the airport. He had landed about 90 min before me and got our train tickets and everything ready for us.

A first look at the wife in 5 weeks!! And me seeing my VERY hairy Dustin for the first time (we'll post the beard pictures soon)
Our hotel was on Hong Kong Island and we stayed on the 17th floor and had an awesome view of the city. Right next to our Hotel was Botanical Gardens and a Zoo so we walked through on our first adventure together. There were LOTS of birds there. HUGe cranes, pink flamingos, toucans, and all sorts of exotic birds that were very bright and beautiful.
Here are some of the monkeys. We thought it was very funny that they had a raccoon in a cage....But I guess to chinese people they are not common.
My very best Orangoutang impersonation. Riding the Star Ferry to Kowloon Peninsula. This ferry has been around for a VERY long time. It is one of the few things in Hong Kong that is old.
I thought it was cool that everything was in Chinese and English. It really is a very easy city to navigate and visit if you don't speak the language. And you love to shop....
My very first REAL view of what an Asian City is like.....crowded.

Here is me at the ladies market. This is where I got my Five, yes Five knock off purses. But I have to say that I got them for an awesome deal which was very exciting for me. But don't worry. One of them was a gift for my sister's birthday. This was about all of the shopping we could handle and honestly the only thing we bought in Hong Kong besides new ties for Dustin, and water. LOTS of water....

And our first meal in China is......McDonalds!!! Dustin had been eating just asian food for 5 weeks and needed a break. See how much I love him?? Actually it was very good.
But see, no worries, he loves me too and we went out to eat Authentic Chinese Food, aka boiled meet, at a place that a native co-worker recommended. It was good...but honestly American Chinese food is better. More flavorful. But we did find some places that were very good to eat...and some not so much...Here are a few pictures from my wonderings while Dustin was at work. I have to admit that I did spend a lot of the time working while he was at work, or at the gym thingy....or just sweating...it was hot and humid!! I mean the most humidity I have ever experienced. Which is why my hair will be pulled back in every picture. I tried on our first day and then gave up. This is a picture of a replica of the Nine Dragon Wall in Beijing.
This is the very top of the longest outdoor escalator in the World. I actually missed it the first time I walked by. It is for sure needed because I didn't know that Hong Kong Island was build on a huge mountain, and so it is a very steep climb up in a lot of places, and the whole perimeter of the Island is where all the huge sky scrapers are. So crazy.
This is St John's Cathedral....I'm not sure exactly how old it was, but I know it was there in the early 1900s....I was excited to see something older. And it was interesting to see the mix in architecture. Hong Kong really is such a melting pot. In a very good way.
The church totally surrounded by huge sky scrapers....
This was Wong Tai Sing Temple, a Toaist temple built in 1921. There were people everywhere offering fruit and meat sacrifices, burning incense, and throwing sticks. They were under construction at the time but it was very cool...well hot I mean.
I LOVE thee bright colors. They had just finished repainting this side so it was particularly bright. I am pretty sure they were getting everything ready for Chinese National Day which happened while we were there since it seemed all of the temples and everything I went to were under construction.

Here are some of the gardens behind Wong Tai Sing. I love how conscious they are to make everything beautiful and that this was a man made waterfall that covered some of the view behind the temple. It was cool to see how much they tried to incorporate nature and preserve and make things as aesthetically pleasing as possible. I know that this is a recent focus for them and they have done well. Before they were just all about tare it down if it isn't functional and build what is, which is why there really isn't much that is old in Hong Kong. But they recently started requiring that all new buildings pass a beautification test.

For example, while I was wandering around I stumbled upon this garden and walked around on this path. I just thought it was another garden in the middle of the city, until I saw all these people coming out of a door in the rock. Upon further exploration we learned that it was a parking garage!! And you couldn't tell at all. We walked all around it it was just waterfalls and greenery. I seriously wish that they would catch on to how neat it is and so much prettier here in the states. And below you will see entrance to said parking lot as proof. Sorry it is a bad picture but I took it from the top of a double decker while moving.....

A cool fountain we found. I was surprised by how how clean and safe Hong Kong was. I had never been in such a clean city...accept when you got hit all the time by the dripping water from the air conditioners, or at least we hoped that was what it was, it was impressive.

Gabe Dixon Band Concert

I know this is not recent, but I wanted to post a couple pictures from an amazing concert Nicki and I went to.  I have been a fan of Gabe Dixon Band for a while now.  We had the chance to see him in a small concert and actually meet him.  This was definitely a highlight for me.

Me, my beautiful wife, and Gabe

We enjoyed sitting in the grass listening to the music and talking with some friends.  The Guymons, one of the great couple friends we have, also came.  Its hard to beat a Saturday like that.

For those interested, here's a link to listen to some of their music: http://www.last.fm/music/Gabe+Dixon+Band

We will be updating more soon...

The Best Day of Our Lives (Part Reception)

After the delicious food and entertainment at the luncheon it was time for some dessert!! Wedding cake!! Or I guess really Costco cake since I didn't leave much wedding cake for them. Grandma Shepherd can make the best cake I've ever had!! About time for the reception to start it began to rain and as the reception was intended to be in the backyard, my fast thinking family improvised. They thought quickly and were able to bring everything inside. Here are a few pictures of the beautiful backyard that Grandma and Grandpa Shepherd had worked on for so many years to beautify. I have many many fond memories growing up playing in this yard. But the most wonderful part is that you can't tell that just a few weeks before the whole thing was dug up by bulldozers as they began renovations on the house. They stopped long enough to plant grass and let it grow some just for the reception. Here are a few pictures of the backyard and the house all ready for the party to begin!!


Here are my diligent Kumps working on the finishing touches for the flowers. I can't thank them enough for their hard work in getting these done for the bouquets and reception. The flower arrangements were absolutely stunning!! And of course Grandma Shepherd getting more flowers for the cake. I know this wedding wouldn't have been as wonderful and beautiful without the hard work of so many family and friends!! Linda as the mastermind behind the flowers. And it was also her Birthday and she never even said a word about it until after the reception. What a woman!!!

Grandma putting some finishing touches on the cake. I have to tell you it was the most delicious cake I've ever had!! Which is what I wanted! Chocolate with raspberry filling and butter-cream chocolate frosting. It was so good that I made sure we brought some cake with us on the honeymoon.
And it even looks absolutely beautiful!! Grandma did such a great job with the flowers!!
Here are some of the results of the hard work of everyone to put everything together. See how great the flowers look!!!
Here is another shout out to Grandma Shepherd for doing the framing for these pictures and finding the green to match. We have two of these hanging in our home from our two receptions and it is fun to see the advice that we got!!
But don't worry, it wasn't all hard work!! We did find ways to have fun and enjoy the day!! Each in their own ways. :) And I especially hope that all of the Hinton's enjoyed the reception after all of their hard work putting together the amazing luncheon!! Even our wonderful photographer Emily found time between taking pictures to have a few laughs. Emily is a family friend and did absolutely amazing on the photos. We couldn't be happier!! If you want to contact her for jobs let me know!! Most of all I appreciate the feeling of love I felt from all of the dear family and friends who sacrificed so much to travel up to DC to celebrate with us. I cannot express my gratitude to them and wanting to share this day with Dustin and me!! And also for all of those who I knew they would have come if they could. We feel truly blessed. I have been trying to find pictures of everyone to include in here but there are a few that I found were missing. I couldn't figure out especially why there were no pictures of Dad Hinton, until I found the following evidence! OH Dad we love you!! I am still not sure if Darren was banished or trying to get in from the rain....or if he was just needing some attention....
I wish I had a few more pictures of everyone else. But thanks to Nate to took the task of parking everyone, and even carried umbrellas to walk everyone to the front door. And to Katherine and Michelle who I know helped serve the cakes, and Aunt Cheryl and Aunt Cathy for helping behind the scenes, because I know they did!! And to everyone else for their help with quick thinking and meeting the needs. And Matt for setting up the music for us.
My two adorable nieces and my wonderful Sister-in-laws!! It is good to know that our future beautiful babies won't feel too alone in their gorgeousness thanks to Kitty and Isabelle. Even Josh found his own way to have fun at the reception!! See we cater to everyone!

Right before cutting the cake. Again people thought quickly as Dustin and I went to go cut the cake in the dinning room, realizing that there wasn't enough room for people to watch, so they found a table and moved the cake to the Living Room. Thanks again to Grandma for her hard work!
Cutting the cake....self explanatory.
Yummy!! Oh yeah, the cake was good too :) Giving the bouquet to Grandma Maughan, as she and Grandpa were about to celebrate I think 53 years of marriage in two weeks. They have been an amazing example of what a marriage should be and I wanted to thank them for that!! See!! Love grows with time!!
Dustin chose the song for our first dance, unknown to me. We danced to Kalai's "Divide Me". Man what a wonderful husband I have!! Heading out!! I told everyone we were leaving at 6:30 on the dot, but we were close!! Here we are leaving at 6:45 with Grandma's cake in hand, trying to not get too wet!! Oh and there is Nate!!
Making our escape.
Notice that Dustin is still holding that cake that his wife wanted to eat so much! We ran to go say goodbye to mom and dad and got attacked.
Despite the looks of it the car was decorated but the rain washed the paint off, but Jessica and Sarah got us back a few weeks later with both of our cars saying "just Married" and things like "Happily Ever After" on them.
And so now the real adventure begins as we embark on eternity together. Thanks again to everyone for all of our help during the wedding and your love and support!

New Recipes

I have been trying a lot more new recipes lately. I wanted to eat things with more vegetables and try new recipes and try to be the cute good chief of a wife I always wanted to be. And it helps that I have the most amazing husband who'll eat anything (accept mushrooms) and try anything I throw at him and be SO grateful for it. It makes me feel to appreciated and so I want to cook more for him!! I am sharing some of the recipes I've tried lately. I really like the Mediterranean and Thai foods. So I hope you try some and like them too!! And food network is my new best friend. I can just type in an ingredient I have in my fridge that I want to use and it pulls up things and you can sort them by their ratings, and how easy they are. I find that the ratings are SUPER helpful. And you can find lots of substitutes for the wines in the recipes, just type in google what they suggest and I get things like chicken broth, or a vinegar or oil instead of the wine. I also have been trying to clump my meals together that have similar ingredients, like cilantro, to make sure I use all of it.

Moroccan Lamb Kabobs:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/moroccan-lamb-kabobs-recipe/index.html

We ate these with lots of onion, green peppers, and zucchini on the kabobs and I just put salt and peper on them and they absorbed the flavor of the lamb, which was absolutely amazing.




Moraccan White Bean Sliders:
1/2 red bell pepper
3 scallions
1/2 cup cilantro
1 clove garlic
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp harissa (receipt below if you can't find the paste in the grocery store)
2 cups white beans or 1 15.5 oz can rinsed and drained
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 large egg
3 tablesppon olive oil
8 small pita breads
1/2 cup mayonnaise and 1 Tbl harissaa, mixed
Lettuce leaves and sliced tomatoes

In a food processor, pulse red bell peper, scallions, cilantro, garlic, coriander, cumin, harissa and salt until finely chopped. Add beans and pulse until coarsely mashed.

Transfer misture to a bowl and add breadcrumbs and egg. Mix with hands and shape into burgers (can place on wax paper and refrigerate 30 minutes to help solidify). Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliders and cook 3-4 min on each side or until golden brown. Spread harissa and mayonnaise into pitas, line with lettuce leaf, tomato and a slider.

Harissa Recipe link:

http://www.whats4eats.com/sauces/harissa-recipe




Sriracha spread Alaska salmon

1 cup cilantro leaves
2 Tbl Sriracha souce (Thai chili sauce)
1 1/2 Tbl fresh lime juice
1 Tbl peanut oil
4 Alaska Salmon steaks or fillets
Sea salt to taste

Heat oven to 350 F. IN a food processor mis first 4 ingredients together. Rince salmon under cold water and pat dry with paper towel. Place salmon on a spray-coated baking pan; eason with sea salt. Spread mixture over salmon. Cook salmon until opaue throughout (10-15 min for fresh, 15-20 for frozen)

I put the fish on vegetables like asparagus or red and green peppers to add some flavor to the vegetables as well.


Here are two more that we actually like to eat together to get some vegetables in:

Asian Green Bean Salad:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/asian-green-bean-salad-recipe/index.html

For this one I recommend using half of the olive oil. We have also had it with feta cheese to give it a different flavor.



Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chicken-satay-with-spicy-peanut-sauce-and-cucumber-relish-recipe/index.html

This one is Dustin's favorite from what he last told me. We have had it on skewers and cooked on broil or just cooked in a pan and on the skewers made it taste SO much better!!



I hope you enjoy these!! They have been fun!!

Phoenix

This is the husband again.  We had the opportunity to spend some time in Arizona visiting friends and family.  For both of us, it was an amazing experience hanging out with so many amazing people.

The trip started at my Hinton family reunion in Flagstaff.  We had a blast camping, playing softball, and playing marshmallow blowgun wars.  Probably most fun for me was seeing all my family and watching  Nicki trying to remember all the names of my huge family.  Coming in a close second, however, was seeing my brother change his boy's diaper on the hood of his van.  Priceless!

We also spent some good time in Phoenix where we got to see some of Nicki's old friends.  

I got to meet Pat and Robin Finn.  Awesome people.  Pat and I chatted up sports while Nicki and Robin caught up over buffalo wings.  Great food, great people, and sports, what more can a guy ask for?

I also had the privilege of meeting the Mitch, Jenny, and Monica Moses family.  We had a good ol' time swimming and shopping.  It was fun getting to know such thoroughly good friends.  I especially enjoyed working my charms on Monica.  I think she likes me!

Here are Jenny, Monica and Nicki on our shopping trip to the outlets.  This was a huge accomplishment for me as we shopped for around 3-4 hours.  My longest shopping experience yet without wanting to poke my eyes out.  I won't bore you with the details on what we bought, but we were pleased.


We also spent a fun evening with Nicki's old roommates eating and singing karaoke.  Apparently it was a common occurrence for Jen, Emily, Bonnie Jeane and Nicki when they lived together.

We were also hosted at a potluck at Nicki's old bishop's house where some friends got together for some good food and laughs.  It was a privilege to meet the Nielsen's and we thank them for their hospitality.  It was also great to finally put faces with all of those names.  On the flip side Nicki finally got to meet my old roommate Marshall and his wife Janelle.  Nicki isn't the only popular one.    

One part of the trip I am especially proud of is my rental care, as detailed below, and the hot girl that came with it.  'Nuff said.

*photo shoot courtesy of Tammy Diva Inc.

Skydiving!!

Dad Shepherd, Nicki, and I had the time of our lives skydiving in June.  This is something that all three of us have always wanted to do.  We thought it a particularly good time to go since we were married for eternity by then... jk

On 19 June, we traveled down to Skydive Orange, roughly 2 hours south of us, to have the experience of a lifetime.  We were not disappointed in this regard.

When we arrived, a book-sized set of permission forms were handed to us.  The next five hours were spent going over these forms guaranteeing, in about 1000 different ways, that we wouldn't sue them.   Once finished, they shuffled us out outside where we practiced throwing back our hands, head, and legs properly.  The purpose of this was to not drive our tandem jumping instructor crazy when falling out of the sky.  We were now fully qualified jumpers.

We waited for a while, took pictures, and watched other jumpers land.  They called our numbers and we went to the hanger to gear up.  A sturdy harness and helmet was strapped on us, we met our jumping instructors, and then headed to the plane.

The plane had two benches where we sat in front of our instructors.  The plane took off and seemed to reach 13,000 feet really fast (our jumping altitude).  Before we knew it, our instructors were pushing us to the plane's open door.  We didn't have much time to get nervous.  Our instructors counted to 3 and pushed us out the door.  The sensation that followed is simply indescribable--elation, exhilaration, terror, enjoyment, and sheer joy!

At 6,000, after about a minute of free fall,  feet we all pulled our shoots.  Instantly, the screaming wind stopped and it was almost silent.  Floating out of the sky is an incredibly peaceful feeling.  We floated down for about 5 minutes.  Our tandem instructors, while guiding us back to the hanger, spun us around by pulling on the shoots' sides.  This was enough for Nicki to loose it when she hit the ground.  Her lunch didn't stand a chance. 

All in all, it was an amazing experience!  We strongly recommend it to everyone!

Enjoy the pictures.

Cedar Point

We've had a long hiatus from posting.  So, the next few posts will be catch up.  We apologize for not posting in chronological order, but better late then never.

So, going back in time to the Monday before the wedding, we took a trip to Cedar Point Amusement Park.  The point of the trip was to de-stress from wedding prep and just have fun.  Lucky for us, school was still in session and it was rainy--we got the park almost to ourselves.  The only down side was that the fastest roller coaster, the Dragster, was out of commission.  That meant we missed out on a 120 mph thrill ride.  Despite the downside, we still rode lots of coasters at really fast speeds.  One highlight was riding the Millenium Force three times in the rain at 93 mph.  Basically, the rain hit our faces so hard that it felt like a hurricane--awesome!!!

As this was my first trip to Cedar Point, I must confess that I'm a big fan.  Even though we all got soaked and cold, it was definitely worth it.  No doubt Nicki and I will find ourselves back there soon.

The trip was particularly fun for the whole Shepherd family as they got to visit Ohio.  As the pictures show, they showed their loyalty with plenty of Ohio State gear and making human signs.  Enjoy the pictures!

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