Sweet glaze pork chops

Here is a fantastic recipe and its very easy to make! If you dont want it super sweet cup back a little on the brown sugar!

sweet glaze pork chops

ingredients

2/3 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp sage
2 TB water (may need more. Should be pretty thick though)
6 pork chops

Directions

Mix all ingredients together. Put raw pork chops in 9x13 pan and pour glaze over. Bake 350 for 45 - 50 min. Really good with mashed potatoes.

Setting a Budget

I found this on the BYU cooking website. It has some great info about money and budgeting!

Cents & Sensibility: Successful Ways to Spend & Save

September 25, 2009 Workshops for Women

BYU Women’s Services & Resource Center


Church Authorities and Finance

— “Peace, contentment, love, and security in the home are not possible when financial anxieties and bickerings prevail. Whether we are anticipating marriage or are well into it, today is the time for all of us to review and repent as necessary to improve our money” – Marvin J. Ashton

— “We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. … If you have paid your debts and have a financial reserve … , you and your family will feel more secure and enjoy greater peace in your hearts.” - The First Presidency

— "Avoid the philosophy and excuse that yesterday's luxuries have become today's necessities. They aren't necessities unless we ourselves make them such. . . . It is essential for us to live within our means.”- President Thomas S. Monson

— "We do live in turbulent times. Often the future is unknown;
therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties. Statistics reveal
that at some time, for a variety of reasons, you may find yourself in the
role of financial provider. I urge you to pursue your education and learn
marketable skills so that, should such a situation arise, you are prepared
to provide.”- President Thomas S. Monson

— "Too many of our youth get into financial difficulty because they never learned proper principles of financial common sense at home. Teach your children while they are young. Teach them that they cannot have something merely because they want it. Teach them the principles of hard work, frugality, and saving.
“If you don't consider yourself informed well enough to teach them, all the more reason for you to begin learning. Abundant resources are available--from classes, to books, to other resources.”- Joseph B. Wirthlin

Scripture References

— INVESTING

— Proverbs 28:20 - A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

— DEBT & BORROWING MONEY

— Proverbs 22:7 - The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

— Romans 13:8- Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

— Mosiah 4:28- And I would that ye should remember, that whosoever among you borroweth of his neighbor should return the thing that he borroweth, according as he doth agree, or else thou shalt commit sin; and perhaps thou shalt cause thy neighbor to commit sin also.

— D&C 64:27-Behold, it is said in my laws, or forbidden, to get in debt to thine enemies;

— D&C 104:78-And again, verily I say unto you, concerning your debts—behold it is my will that you shall pay all your debts.

— D&C 136:25-If thou borrowest of thy neighbor, thou shalt restore that which thou hast borrowed; and if thou canst not repay then go straightway and tell thy neighbor, lest he condemn thee.

Provident Living

— “Being provident providers, we must keep that most basic commandment, “Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 20:17). Our world is fraught with feelings of entitlement. Some of us feel embarrassed, ashamed, less worthwhile if our family does not have everything the neighbors have. As a result, we go into debt to buy things we can’t afford—and things we do not really need. Whenever we do this, we become poor temporally and spiritually. We give away some of our precious, priceless agency and put ourselves in self-imposed servitude. Money we could have used to care for ourselves and others must now be used to pay our debts. What remains is often only enough to meet our most basic physical needs. Living at the subsistence level, we become depressed, our self-worth is affected, and our relationships with family, friends, neighbors, and the Lord are weakened. We do not have the time, energy, or interest to seek spiritual things.”

-Elder Robert D. Hales

Research Regarding Money & Relationships

— #1 predictor of divorce

— The American Bar Association has indicated that 89% of all divorces can be traced to quarrels and accusations over money

— Others have estimated that 75% of all divorces result from clashes over finances

— Some professional counselors indicate that four out of five families are strapped with serious money problems.

— How to be successful financially

— Live on a budget as a single individual. Learn discipline.

— Discuss your budget with your partner (Accept money from in-laws? Savings? Children? Vacations? Etc)

— Talk, agree, and go over budgeting items together regularly

Budgeting

— Income vs. Expense

— Make an income/expense sheet

— Use average to low numbers for income

— Use average to high numbers for expenses

— Necessary Items

— Tithing, Rent, Utilities, Groceries, School

— Wanted Items

— Cable, Internet, Cell Phone

Budgeting: Cash

— Benefits of using cash

— You can save the change

— You won’t overspend

— You can set limits for yourself

— Immediate Clearance

— Always accepted

— Generally, more than 22% decrease in what you’re spending

— Jar or Envelope Cash

— Get cash and live out of jars or envelopes

— Borrow from other areas when needed

Budgeting: Percentages

— Gazelle (DaveRamsey.com)

— Charity 10%

— Saving 5%

— Housing 25%

— Utilities 5%

— Food 5%

— Cars/Transportation 10%

— Clothing 2%

— Medical/Health 5%

— Personal 5%

— Recreation 5%

— Debts

— Adjust the budget to what works for you

— Tracking a Budget

— Excel

— Make a spreadsheet with your projected and actual income

— Tracking a Budget

— Mint.com

— Free

— Visual representations, cost of living, set budget, warnings, link with bank account

— Tracking a Budget

— Quicken and other software

— Costs Money, visual representations, cost of living, set budget, warnings, link with bank account over long period of time, debt trackers, savings trackers

Budgeting: Credit

— You can still gain a good credit score even without having cards (car payments, house payments, BYU accounts, utility bills, steady employment etc)

— Try to stay away from credit cards if they’ll tempt you too much to buy things you can’t afford

— Credit cards often have rewards which can be nice

— If you have credit cards always make sure that you pay your bills on time and in full

— Try to keep your credit card balances at 25% or less of your limits

Budgeting: Avoid Debt

— “Do not, I solemnly urge you, tie yourselves to payment of carrying charges that are often exorbitant. Save now and buy later, and you will be much further ahead. You will spare yourselves high interest and other payments, and the money you save may provide opportunity for you to buy later at substantial cash discounts.

If you must incur debt to meet the reasonable necessities of life—such as buying an automobile, a house, or furniture—then I implore you, as you value your solvency and happiness, buy within your means and use credit wisely. Resist the temptation to plunge into property far more pretentious or spacious than you really need.”

–President Ezra Taft Benson

Budgeting: Saving

— Don’t save just to save- have something in mind

— Start small with an Emergency Fund then 3-6 months of expenses

— What are you saving for?

— School, Car, Wedding, Baby, House, Vacation etc.

— Do smart planning and research for what you should have saved

— Don’t touch the emergency money

— Have two savings accounts if you need to

Budgeting: Savings Accounts

— Find a free savings account

— Often banks or credit unions will have free savings accounts when linked to an active checking account

— Use an online savings account (ING Direct, HSBC Direct etc.)

— Set up an automatic savings plan

— Pay yourself first each paycheck

— Research fees, min balance, current interest rates etc. (bankrate.com, money-rates.com)

— Current interest rates are around 1- 1.3%

Financial Aid for School

— Do your FAFSA

— Fafsa.ed.gov

— Learn something about taxes

— VITA lab at BYU will do your taxes if you make $30,000 or less each year

— Get your credits and deductions

— Become familiar with financial aid and scholarship deadlines

Groceries: What do you eat?

— Keep track of meals that you generally eat

— Start listing out ingredients of what you use for those meals

— Assess the quality of the meals you’re eating and adjust as needed

— Enough fruits and veggies etc?

— Assess your eating out/eating in tendencies and adjust as needed

— You’ll likely eat much healthier if you’re eating home cooked meals

Groceries: What do you have to spend?

— Groceries are an interesting area of the budget because food is a staple, but how much a person is spending can be adjusted

— If you find that you are going out of your budget often, you may need to readjust what you’re eating

— E.g. frozen meals often cost a lot more than homemade, bulk foods can sometimes be cheaper

— Do you keep eating out separated in your budget or use leftover grocery money?

Groceries: How do I know if it’s a good price?

— Start keeping a log by saving receipts

— Look at per unit pricing

— Consult with others (friends, parents etc)

— Be aware of when specific produce items are in season

Meal Planning

— Keep a list of meals you eat regularly and go from that

— Check your fridge and cupboard for items you already have then make your grocery list

— Coordinate with roommates/partner/spouse

— Rotation Menu

Groceries: Coupons and Deals

— All Grocery Deals (Utah County)

— http://www.grocerysmarts.com/utah/lists/indexg84cso.php?a84ll2

— This has a star system. More stars or a red star means it’s a better price.

— You can search by grocery store.

— It also has links to printable coupons for items that are already on sale.

— It shows the before/after price using coupons

— Group Coupons

— A:http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=12812&zid=dl89&nid=10

— B:http://coupons2.smartsource.com/smartsource/index.jsp?Link=235ZMFJDIS36M

— C: http://coupons.redplum.com/GrocerySmarts/

— Various coupons by many companies from grocery items to health care to photography

— Printable Coupons

— http://www.printable-coupons.blogspot.com/

— You can search for brand names, product type etc and it will show you if any printable coupons are available.

— Grocery Guru

— http://www.utahcityguide.com/new/guru/index.asp

— This plans out weekly meal plans using newspaper coupons. You need to get the Sunday paper in order to get most of the deals, but sometimes it uses other coupons or no coupons at all.

— Betty Crocker Coupons

— http://www.bettycrocker.com/coupons-promotions/coupons/default.aspx?WT.ac=homepage_05-01-2008

— Box Tops for Education Coupons

— http://www.boxtops4education.com/Coupons/

— Pillsbury Coupons

— http://www.pillsbury.com/coupons-promotions/couponspromotionslanding.htm

Food Storage

— It’s food you eat and toiletries you use

— Buy 2 instead of 1

— Buy in bulk

— Get things when they’re on sale

— Find creative ways to store your food storage

— Use somebody else’s list

— E.g. 50 weeks to full food storage, food storage for college students, 52 weeks to emergency preparedness etc

LDS Resources

— Talks

— Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually - Elder Hales 2009 (Print)

— Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually - Elder Hales 2009 (Video)

— Earthly Debts, Heavenly Debts - Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin 2004 (Print)

— Opening the Windows of Heaven - President James E. Faust 1998 (Print)

— Making Money Your Ally - Brother Albrecht 1988 (Print)

— Pay Thy Debt, and Live President Ezra Taft Benson 1987 (Print)

— The Responsibility for Welfare Rests with Me and My Family - Elder James Faust 1986 (P)

— Providing for Our Needs - Elder Ballard 1981 (Print)

— Pamphlets & Handouts

— All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Finances

— One For The Money

—

Haha, great little questionaire note our answers are polar opposites.

Victoria's:

♥ What are your middle names? Gogarty and Evans

♥ How long have you been together? We met in April 2007

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? Ummmm, like 3 days or so

♥ Who asked who out? I think we just started hanging out a lot. Our first "date" was driving back to Denver to see our families for my birthday.

♥ How old are each of you? I'm 23 and he is 25

♥ Whose family do you see the most? It is a pretty even split, they live 15 minutes apart.

♥ Do you have any children together? Not yet

♥ What about pets? We had a dog named Marley that we fostered.... that lasted about a week. We also had a fish named Gunnison who passed away last year :(

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Deciding what's for dinner.

♥ Did you go to the same school? No, he went to Arapahoe high school I went to Chaparral, I went to the University of Denver and then Utah Valley University. He was at BYU the entire time.

♥ Were you born in the same home town? No, I was born in American Fork Utah, he was born in Colorado.

♥ Who is the most sensitive? Me, definitely me.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Mamma Chus in Orem. AMAZING. Best Mexican I have ever had!

♥ Who has the craziest exes? He has had some crazies, but I would probably say me in terms of number of crazy exes mine is much higher.

♥ Who has the worst temper? On a regular basis probably me, but he has had his moments.....

♥ Who does the cooking? Me, he does help out a lot though :)

♥ Who is more social? Me? Jordan, hands down Jordan.

♥ Who is the neat-freak? Well its not Jordan. (haha jk babe) He does his part but to him running the vaccum around on a sat every other week is clean. Me the house has to be dusted top to botton, vaccumed every week, and lots of harsh chemicals taken to the bathroom and counters (oh and everything off the floor, including his piles....)

♥ Who is more stubborn? Me, me, me.

♥ Who hogs the bed? And once again that is me.

♥ Who wakes up earlier? Jordan, I have serious issues with morning time that I am trying to overcome.

♥ Where was your first date? In the car to Denver?! Haha I am not sure.

♥ Who has the bigger family? Jordan has the bigger immediate family, I have the bigger extended family.

♥ Do you get flowers often? I think twice since we got married.

♥ How do you spend the holidays? We trade off every year, although my parents just decided to have thanksgiving on wednesday so we get two thanksgivings.

♥ Who is more jealous? Most definately me.

♥ How long did it take to get serious? A week after we met???

♥ Who eats more? Oh I can eat a lot..... it depends on the dinner and who is more hungry.

♥ Who does/did the laundry? Me.

♥ Who’s better with the computer? Well it depends on what we are doing, Jordan is definatley better all around. If it is photography or graphic design related I can hold my own (he still knows more about photoshop then I do though!)

♥ Who drives when you are together? Jordan, I absolutely HATE driving.

Jordan's:

♥ What are your middle names? Victoria doesnt have a middle name and I have three.

♥ How long have you been together? too long

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? 5 hours.

♥ Who asked who out? tyler monteath

♥ How old are each of you? 12 and 12

♥ Whose family do you see the most? zach davis

♥ Do you have any children together? not that I know of

♥ What about pets? Names? We had a fish

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Going to the store

♥ Did you go to the same school? no

♥ Were you born in the same home town? No she is a utahn

♥ Who is the smartest? pretty much me but also her

♥ Who is the most sensitive? me, I have soft skin

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Mamma chus

♥ Who has the craziest exes? by sheer volume, Victoria.

♥ Who has the worst temper? victoria

♥ Who does the cooking? me

♥ Who is more social? me

♥ Who is the neat-freak? me

♥ Who is more stubborn? victoria

♥ Who hogs the bed? victoria

♥ Who wakes up earlier? me

♥ Where was your first date? to tyler monteaths

♥ Who has the bigger family? me

♥ Do you get flowers often? I get them sometimes until victoria killed the plants in our living room, now I never get flowers.

♥ How do you spend the holidays? driving back and forth between our houses.

♥ Who is more jealous? victoria

♥ How long did it take to get serious? Just until we got Tyler Monteath out of the picture.

♥ Who eats more? victoria

♥ Who does/did the laundry? me

♥ Who’s better with the computer? me

♥ Who drives when you are together? me

Lots of new photography

So I have been busy finishing up the last few lacrosse games of the season but I finally got all of them done! Also new photos of Kali, Halle, and Trey up on my blog take a look here Hope all is well with everyone, we have been really busy so I will blog when we have more to talk about :)

Done with college!!!!..... if I can pass math......

So I am FINALLY done with my last long semester of college. I now have one art project, a business class, and college algebra that stand in the way of me graduating. The only one I am truly worried about....math. It terrifies me, and I already have a three hour block of time set aside every day from July through August on the phone with my grandpa gogarty who will be helping me through it. Cant he just be Victoria and head down to the testing center for me? Lets just say when I was a child my mother would sit at the table with me grouping straight pretzels into little groups to visually show me how to add and subtract.The images above pretty much explain how I feel about math. How in the world do they come up with all these silly answers. I just will never understand it. This is why I love art. It is very self explanatory. If you add together blue and red it makes purple. Right before your eyes. It is amazing. There are no equations or numbers involved at all. Just color. Which be the way one of the last questions I will ever answer on a college final was to draw a complete color wheel and correctly color it in. Lets just say I didn't even look at the study guide and passed with flying colors......

Well we are headed to Denver tomorrow for a two day trip for RMLC's (for lacrosse) then we will be back for nationals for a week. I am NOT looking forward to two ten hour bus rides at all, and I am already stressing about my art project that is starting next week.

And for those that don't know I have been keeping a very consistent photography blog with all of my new work. Lately it has been lots and lots of lacrosse but there are going to be some new portraits and landscapes soon (I have a show June 6) check it out here. Put it on your blog lists (I update every few days with new images) And here is a sneak peek at one of my most favorite images I have taken all season.

Thistle

Yesterday Jordan, Jeremy, and I went to Thistle. I needed to get some new images for some shows I am submitting for (and one that I am in that is in June) and it was nice out and we needed some adventure. It was a blast. We explored for most of the day and got some great shots! I had no idea how much fun rubble and ruins were to shoot! If you dont know much about Thistle check out more about it here. Basically it was destroyed in 1983 by a huge mudslide that caused the river to damn and form a lake over the city. It was pretty much all gone but there is still a schoolhouse there, some houses underwater, and a house that is mostly just the foundation. We also found this genealogy document which was pretty cool. It was fun! I am so excited to get out and explore more this summer! Enjoy the pictures! I will put them all up at www.victoriaharris.zenfolio.com in the next few days!

Harker Family Pictures

I finally got around to getting the Harker family's pictures done. I have been crazy with school, lacrosse games, and being sick. Good news.... one more week and two classes this summer and I will officially be forever done with school. Thank goodness. I was beginning to think everyone was lying telling me there was such a thing as a college graduation. Well here are a few image from this session. They were so much fun to do and I am pretty pleased with how they turned out. Let me know what you think! I am looking forward to scheduling more portrait sessions this summer! OH also if you don't know about it already, check out my photography blog, I update it at least once a week with new images. Right now there are lots of sports since I have been shooting so many, but new portraits and landscapes should be up soon!

WOW.

So this is a short post but I just found this link on facebook and it is of this older lady singing in Britain's got talent. You could tell at the beginning every single person in the room doubted that she would be any good. And then she sings and it absolutely blows you away. I honestly almost cried. Take a look it is worth the five minutes of your day. PS Never judge a book by its cover.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Its almost summer and that means new swimsuit!

My sister in law found the best place to buy swimsuits! I get so tired of trying to find suits that are modest and actually cover more then what nude underwear models wear. Well these are great and they are super cute! I am sooo excited to get mine! I think I want the Lizzie which is blue and yellow. Here is their site for those of you that are interested! http://www.limericki.com/

White Chili

Jordan and I tried a new recipe last night and it was really really good! One of our favorites and Jordan now wants me to make it every other week. It is white chili and it is really easy and fast to make.

1 pound of ground turkey (we used ground beef and it was good also)
1 cup medium or hot salsa (I might use hot next time to give it a little more kick)
1 can corn
1 cup water
2 cans of great northern beans (rinsed and drained)
1 package jalapeno pepper chedder cheese (cut up into cubes)

Brown your meat in your saucepan and then add salsa, corn, water, beans, and cheese. Stir together and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes or until cooked through and the cheese has melted.




Better yet, we have been trying to watch what we eat and eat a little healthier, this is supposed to serve 8 and each serving only has 339 calories in it! Enjoy!

more pictures :)

I started to edit all of the images of the Harker family tonight. We are in Detroit until Sunday so maybe I will have time to get some done! They are turning out so cute! I just picked one to post to show everyone, once I get them all done I will post a bunch on facebook and my photography blog.

Cute cute cute!

I had the chance to shoot the Harker family this week while I was in town. They were so much fun and I absolutely love Halle and Trey. First of they are adorable and looked so cute in their new little outfits and secondly Halle is so funny with Trey. I am super behind in my editing and really should have been doing lacrosse pictures, but I could not resist showing everyone just a few pictures of the kids. Enjoy! These are very quick edits and I was playing around with them a little so I will post some of the whole family and more of the kids in a few days when I can sit down and really edit them!

New blog and promotion (for my business).....

So this has been a very busy month which would explain why neither of us have blogged. Jordan has been really busy working and I have been trying to make it through this last semester of school. I found out I only have two more classes to take (plus my math class :( ) and I will be done with college! Then I can get a job so Jordan can get finished up. I will be more excited when both of us are done and we dont have to deal with school anymore.

I have been trying in the little spare time that I have, to start getting my photography out to the public more. So far I have about six lacrosse teams in Utah that I will be shooting for this spring as well as BYU, and about three teams which I will be shooting for when I come out to Denver for a few days in March. I am excited, I really enjoy shooting lacrosse, hopefully this year I can branch out to some other sports as well. In addition to that if anyone knows people that might be interested in booking a session, let me know. I am going to run an engagement special through the end of March so check it out if you know someone getting married! www.victoriabainesharris.blogspot.com

Well everything is going well for us, we are staying busy and just enjoying this chapter of our life. Hope everyone is doing well!

Fight FOCA

I have been so busy lately that I have had no time to blog! Sorry, hopefully I can update everyone on our lives later in the week. But I saw my sister in law's blog today and thought this was too important not to post. Honestly I am not sure what living person thinks this is actually an ok thing for congress to pass, but it is absolutely WRONG. Please take the time to stand against this.


What is the Freedom of Choice Act? It basically eliminates EVERY restriction on abortion.

1. Partial-birth abortion will now be legal.

2. Parental consent laws for minors will no longer be in effect. Although a seventeen-year-old girl has to have her parents present in order to get acne medicine, a thirteen-year-old can get an abortion without her parents knowing.

3. Laws prohibiting public funding of abortion will be struck down. The American taxpayer will now have to fund something many of us consider to be murder.

4. Laws requiring women to be shown information about (including being shown ultrasounds) and alternatives to abortion will be struck down. Think about any other surgery that's performed: you are bombarded with information. And yet, in one of the most invasive medical procedures, women would be kept ignorant of the facts.

5. Laws allowing medical staff and hospitals to refuse to perform abortion on grounds of conscience will be struck down. (Where's the freedom of choice here?)

6. Laws prohibiting medical personnel other than licensed physicians from performing abortions would be invalidated because they may "interfere with" access to abortion. (Talk about protection for women!)

7. Government agencies and officials are prohibited from taking any action that would "discriminate against the exercise of" the FOCA-created legal rights, with respect to any "benefits, facilities, services, or information," would leave government officials open to lawsuits for anything that anybody thought "discriminate(s)" against abortion.

Basically, people that are PRO LIFE are given NO CHOICE in the matter of abortion. Catholic hospitals have threatened to close down if this passes because they will refuse to do abortions and Obama does not want them to have that CHOICE. Obama already took away our choice to use our taxes to fund abortions.

SO...what can we do? Here is a website to sign a petition against FOCA. http://www.fightfoca.com/

The better thing to do, in my opinion, is to email your Congressman to make sure that this bill never even gets out of Congress and to Obama's desk. http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/