Check It Out

 What in the heck?  Check them out on the cooking blog.  Cooking makes me happy!

Name Dropping and Other Droppings

There are so many things I want to write about last week but today is a Chubba Wubba day so I don't really have time.  And I'm sooo sorry I haven't posted the crock pot recipes and a few other wonderful recipes I've tried lately.  But hopefully soon.  I'll let you know.

Instead, I'll just drop a few names (for your attention!)  If you missed Cheri on the Martha Stewart Show, you can see it here.  She's a doll. 

http://www.marthastewart.com/875751/upcycled-t-shirt-dress#ooid=htNjFlMzopZ6j0nGBO9lftdjyYkmhro5

And this one is funny.  Ben's Susannah is always dropping wonder bombs.  Like Alfie Boe actually dressed up like Santa and came to their house. (If you don't know who  Alfie Boe is yet, check him out.  I was totally hoping he would show up and sing happy birthday to me.  Didn't happen.  Ben knows he would be my favorite son if this happened.  Maybe when  truly I am 100!)  So, we were talking the other night and my mentioning Robert Redford (and skinny legs) the other day came up....and bomb.  "Robert Redford actually gifted us a year of diaper service when I was born."   WHAT????   She just says it so matter-of-factly.  I just shake my head.  I can't wait to see "what else?"  It's a story.  I'll tell you it when I see you if you ask....

That's all.  That's all I have to offer.  I realized last week I forgot to post butters.  Actually, butter.  One butter again.  But after a week of birthday eating, I smacked two back on my hips.  They are not very flattering and I'm tempted to make some popcorn to go along with them.  Oh-Oh!  Chubba is in the walker and making faces ..... and noises....and straining.  I guess Susie's not the only one dropping bombs! (sorry, Sus- that was just a metaphor! xoxo)

Today

Happy Pinterest Birthday!

 I LOVE my family!  We had the best, best, best time last night.  Since today is my birthday (on the Sabbath) I chose for all my kids and spouses and David and I to have dinner at Texas Roadhouse last night. My girls were all so darling...they had a Pinterest party for me.  All their gifts were from ideas I had pinned on my boards!  I LOVED it!  (and because I am getting slower, it took me forever to figure it out!)  I got a picture of all the kiddos wishing me a happy birthday drawn on their feet, a black tablecloth with white chalk to draw on place settings ...and darling jar of colorful cupcake papers, a Mountain Dew (I heart everything that you Dew...), cake bites, a darling Sundae in a soda glass...(it's a Sundae Bath....smells delicious!), scarves plus a pinterest how-to tie them guide.  Even the balloon jar was pinterest!

Of course, when you are at Roadhouse and you have a birthday, you get to ride the saddle!  In my family, I cannot have a birthday WITHOUT someone in the fam bringing up the time when the kids were probably all school age.  We had gone to the Sizzler (those were the days)...and the kids said it was my birthday and just before they came and sang, I went outside and stayed in the car.  They couldn't believe that I would DO that....but truly, it WASN'T my birthday (like a week before or after).
So now, of course, I hop up on that saddle.  I have no pride anymore and I certainly don't want to hear about it for another 100 years!  Love you, love you, love you family.

Ben and Susannah brought me home and we had a great visit since all the  rest of the guys had Jazz tickets to see Jimmer play.  It would have been fun to see it...I guess it was quite the game and Jimmer is BELOVED here!  (Jazz still won!)

Facebook

Sometimes, friends post things on Facebook that I want to remember so I thought I'd copy a few of them here.


Josh Wright (wonderful pianist- love his family) wrote this:
Ha ha -just saw a 4 year old girl and her mom walking down the hall of the music building.


Mom: "so, what did Mrs. Z say about your LACK of practice?!"


4 year old: (in a casual tone) Actually, I did quite well with my lack of practice.


*******************


From daughter, Brandi:




Each Friday I get to take Parker to breakfast before school. This morning as we headed into Jamba Juice, "Beat It" was blaring. So naturally I had to show him a few of my moves, including the moonwalk. :) The Jamba employees loved it, my 13 year old.....not so much!!! It was MJ, what's a girl supposed to do?


******************



Last night T and T came over with kiddos to watch the XGames on ESPN to see if Torah was going to ride or not.  Jake posted this picture.  Torah really didn't think she would compete (which she really didn't, although she rode)....after just losing her dear friend Sarah Burke this week.  She said she would take a run for her friend but her head just isn't into the half pipe right now.  You could tell she wasn't competing...just doing her runs.  Always her beautiful smile.  We love her.  If you can't be at the top of your game, when doing something dangerous, you need to realize that.  She did.

**************



One of my high schoolies, Teri, that I love, posted this thought:

Go quietly and work on your own self-awareness. If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself. If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation.”


~ Lao Tzu: Hua Hu Ching   ("Classic on Converting the Barbarians")


*************************
Then cyber friend Ann (Nebraska) posted a Youtube of Steven Sharp Nelson, another local musical prodigy.  He plays the cello, the piano, the guitar and percussion....always phenomenal.  If you watch it, then click on the bottom of the picture to take you to the link that shows how they made it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_362210&v=DRVvFYppU0w&src_vid=e9GtPX6c_kg&feature=iv


****************

My niece Lisa is moving from Colorado back to Vancouver, Washington.  (They moved to Colorado from Vancouver just last year.)  She is my darling niece of the "gingerbread" caramel fame...and who used to own the home (dang!  why did they sell it) with the secret rooms that I freaked about.  Anyway, she sent me a picture of them driving along the way.  Yay! they are this far!  Booooo they didn't stop.

So, she has posted their progress on Facebook and finally they are in Boise.  One of her friends posted this in response to her posting how exhausted they all were:

"Either you are riding your bicycles to WA or you drive like a 90 yr old.  It's a road trip, not a career choice."

 (I thought that was very funny!)


******
And then another friend posted this thought which I know I have posted here on my blog before, but I thought it was appropriate.  The other day a friend shared with me a story about "an ex-mother-in-law" who combined with aging issues was out of control.  I remember thinking about it later....when I had to meet "someone"....after another particularly difficult situation he seems to orchestrate.  As I was driving to meet him, I had to do A LOT of self-talk, remembering what my mother always said, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."  Good advice.  Nice is always better.  And if you can't be nice, be quiet.

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. "One is Evil - It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. "Th...e other is Good - It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Make Over!

 My office is the little corner of the kitchen to the left.  I have sat there...for years, writing this journal to my great-great-greats.  Although I loved to be able to turn on the fire and be nice and cozy, cozy has been driving me crazy.  Where you see the pictures, sat my PC AND my hard drive...and the printer was underneath...and I'd have to do some crawling to get under there....and truly, there wasn't enough room to sneeze.  David has a nice office and I thought maybe he'd let me come in there with a desk next to his...and we could have this wonderful bonding time.  Not so.  He moved two saddles in there with stands.  I now know where I stand.

So I have been playing around with different ideas.  I decided that I could use my computer area to hold hard-to-store kitchen stuff like crock pots and rice cookers and big clumsy pots. 

I then found the below desk with bookcase and another piece of the desk configuration.

 

I already have this darling red built-in hutch on one side of our dining nook. I took the new pieces to http://www.shabby2chicdesign.blogspot.com/ here in Sandy (love, love, love Meggie!) and had her paint the new pieces to match my other hutch. The kitchen table used to run parallel with the window but there is plenty of room to turn it out.

I love my new work area.  I can sneeze.  I can stretch out if I want to. My printer pulls out.  I'm happy. Clappity-clap-clap! (that's a "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands" in case you couldn't tell...)

What Some People Think...

I found this picture on pinterest.  I would totally give the credit but I couldn't find it when I went  back to look.

Just things...

~Just sitting here this morning in agony.  Toothache.  Remember the tooth I went to the endodontist for months ago, who gave me the funny scrunch-up-your-face stress exercises?  I told him "I thought" I needed a root canal...and he said "if you think you need a root canal, you don't.  When you do, you KNOW it!"  Well, guess what.  I KNOW it now!  Appointment in the morning...which means ice-packing it today.

~tonight was suppose to be our Bon Appetit dinner with the Cooks.  We were hosting.  Choosing the menus when Valene is the best cook I know is hard.  We have been cooking out of the Bon Apetit magazine but we decided we were getting behind on the magazine (I love magazines but just can't keep up with subscriptions.)....so we just decide on our own what we want to cook.  I decided that I am doing all recipes from Pinterest.  From my "Gotta Try This File."   I called Valene this morning to tell her about my tooth, my face, my ache...and we're going to reschedule.


~and I'm anxious about tomorrow.  Our sweet friend (one of my best friend's sons) is finally getting out of prison.  Ten years.  TEN YEARS!  We are so over-the-top happy and over-the-top scared (of what the media can do)......and yet, what could be worse than the last ten years?  I'm yellow ribboning their home in the morning...and neighbors there are yellow ribboning the street where he will come home.  I've shared little about this situation but let me say, he is one of the finest young men I have ever known.  He was serving a mission, and doing a service project....and then was involved in a terrible accident that caused, among other things, a brain injury.  Which then, months later caused erratic behavior/judgement....which resulted in serious consequences.  Ten years.  Let's move on...

~busy trying to plan a trip to Disneyland with all our families and kiddos except hubby.  He is not a Disneyland fan.  Trying to find rooms matching  every one's schedules (donut!)  I used to be good at organizing these things but not so much any more.  I need a secretary.  Anyone need a job?

~Brandi gave me a most thoughtful Christmas present.  She secretly (while we were on our cruise) took a box of my pictures (I have boxes and boxes) and had them put on cd's.  She had about 1500 pictures done!  I think this afternoon while I am ice-packing, I'll go down memory lane.  With having them like this, then I can go through them and organize them and delete the ones I do not want.  VERY excited.

~I also have a makeover project that I have been doing.  I haven't had my camera for a week (I'm an addict and have almost had to join a 12-step program with it)...but hopefully I will get it today and can share tomorrow.  I LOVE it!

~ we got SNOW!  Wonderful snow!  Alta got about a dozen inches one day and a couple of feet another day this week so poor Ben is shoveling his head off. (He and Susannah manage a condo complex between Alta and Snowbird.) (and they pray for snow, as we do, so no one can complain!)  It actually rained more here in the valley, although we are covered with wet snow...and of course, the wind was showing off which means....tree branches down.  Again.  The giant willow in our front/side yard had better start singing its swan song ....because in the spring, it is becoming a lawn sculpture.  Truly.  I'm done.

~and another heartache this past week.  Sarah Burke, an accomplished freestyle skiing (halfpipe) was in a terrible accident a few weeks ago (in papers everywhere) and she died this week.  She was the instigator of getting skiing halfpipe (I don't know if it is called that) into the next Olympics and has won 6 gold medals at the X-games.  Google about her if you haven't heard.  She is really good friends with Torah and Jake (she does what Torah does on a snowboard, but on skies.)....and it has really done a number on all those who love her.  (read some at http://sarahburkeski.com/ 

~and lastly, Cheri, from http://www.iammommahearmeroar.com/  is going to be on Martha Stewart this Thursday- Hallmark Channel at 10:00 am. for those who live here.  I'm not sure what time it is at other places.  She tells about the taping on her blog which is fun to read about.  We are SOOO proud of you, Cheri! (Cheri serves as the Primary president in our Ward. i.e. the children's services.)

~I thought this posted this morning...and here I still am...although I have done several appointments, including STANDING IN A LINE FOREVER to renew my driver's license.  The picture looks absolutely horrible...so I asked the cute young man helping me if I could have "do overs" with the picture...and he said, "I think it looks great!"  Ha- so I said, "So I guess that's a nice way of saying no!"  No do-overs.  I get to look like the dork I am for 4 more years.  It's bad enough turning another year older this week!


I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. ~Elwyn Brooks White

Heartaches.

Heartaches.  Two people that I love have cancer issues. It is such a hard, hard thing. My heart is aching and praying and praying some more. Several other very close people are going through really, really hard stuff.  Sometimes it is hard to breathe. The last two weeks I have been teaching "the tree of life" lessons in Sunday School. Lehi spends much time not knowing where he is going, traveling through a dark wilderness. We all have those. This is a dark, dark wilderness. Such a personal journey (personal for all those who love and care as well.) God speed. And peace. And courage.  And hope.

Life is simple, it's just not easy. ~Author Unknown

J. and The Birds

Because I posted about friend J.'s fabulous make-over cottage yesterday, I just wanted to remind you of a "J and I" experience.   

http://constantgrowingamazement.blogspot.com/2011/03/funny-friends.html

Not a Bean War Cottage

I think I'm going to start a new little "cottage" area on my blog. We all need to retreat at times.....and after I posted about my Bucket friend's cottage, a little cottage war started. Not really. But here is the story.


First of all, my friend J. She doesn't like her name  swirling around out there. She is one of those people that showed up in an unusual and miraculous way in my life.... and continues to inspire and delight and humor me. She's changed my life in such personal ways I cannot even share. We used to spend time eating gelato at Bella Citta until Bella Citta closed down this year.  (Bella Citta's gelato was better than any I found in Italy. Truly I ache for it.) We would sit in the car and talk and talk and analyze and talk. And she has fabulous insights (and truly shocks me with unconventional at times) and, I can say, I adore her.

Although she has many quirks. We won't go into all of those.  I'm saving some of the juiciest for the "novel" I'm going to write some day. People will say, "I can't believe M. can even come up with a character like that in her novel!" And I'll just smile because I know "the character" is really J. but J. won't sue me for slander...because, as I said at the beginning, she doesn't like her name "out there."

Today's cottage begins with this.

So absolutely cute and adorable. (Cute and adorable just go together.) I loved to see J. cruising around the Granite area on her pink scooter. One time I spied her and chased her down...and we sat in the middle of the road, again, talking and talking...until finally a grouchy lady told us to move it. Heck, the grouchy lady surely could have pulled around us, up on the sidewalk, through some peoples' lawn and shrubs in her car ...and not made a such a scene....

I regret that once J. asked if I wanted to ride behind her on the pink scooter to go get yogurt. I made up some lame excuse but truly, what I was most worried about was.....what if my "butters" would hang off the rear end ? (both the scooters and mine...)

And now I regret it since Bella Citta isn't there and now the pink scooter is gone as well.

J. decided she needed a retreat. And she, like my Bucket friend, S., had a storage shed in her backyard. I don't think I have the first picture but it started off looking similar to this without the pathway cut:

J. actually traded her pink scooter for help in re-doing her storage shed into her own personal retreat. Look how adorable. (And cute. I didn't want "cute" to feel left out this time.)

J. calls her cottage "Casa De Milagro." I immediately (you know me and my great language skills) thought "You named your cottage the house of beans?"Well, I vaguely remember that Robert Redford starred in a movie called The Milagro Bean Fields or something like that. But since the movie was rated "R" and I don't see "R" rated movies...I thought Milagro was like pinto or garbanzo and, I don't know, it seems exactly the kind of name that friend J. would pick, just to be different.

But not so. And of course I should have known. Milagro means miracles....and that is what friend J. is in my life. This little cottage in her backyard is her house of miracles. She has a group of "brainiac" friends (another looooong story) that meets regularly there (of course I'm not a brainiac...since I am a blond.) and it has been an oasis in the calm and storms of life. Of J.'s and many others.

I love this little corner of her cottage because it just speaks J. See all those Indian flutes standing on the desk? J. took up the flute last year....and goes to, I don't know, tepee gatherings (she's gonna kill me after she reads this....so I might as well tell you that she's actually walked over hot burning coals.  Who does that?) and she says that she can go out in this sanctuary and play her flutes all she wants without any of her family begging her to stop.

I can't wait for spring to come so I can sit in one of the yellow (my favorite color) chairs out front...and sip raspberry lemonade...and listen to J. play her flutes....and then have her share all the thoughts inside of her that touch my soul....

and think, wow. I'm a lucky human "bean" to get to have this milagro friendship!

(and not to take away from this wonderful cottage, but once when I was going skiing at Sundance, I was sitting in the car putting on my boots and I looked up....and there was Robert Redford.  Just a few feet away.  Just him and me.  When he was in his prime.  Like his "The Way We Were" prime.  But my first thought wasn't "Oh my gosh!  There's Robert Redford in his prime!"  Instead it was, "Oh my gosh!  David's legs are so much cuter than his!")

 One measly butter is all I have to post this week.  When you look at a pound of butter, it actually looks like a lot....but when you step on the scales, it seems like NOTHING!  But never fear, I'm still dedicated.  I'm still in this game.  I'm committed.  How you doing, cuz?

Today is Creative Cooking.  We're doing it twice so the working gals can come tonight to a tasting table.  I got up at 5:30 this morning to get all the crocks going.

Last night I did Brandi's yummy Italian Chicken.  Right now I have Thai Chicken and Cashews, Chicken and Black Beans (I've already posted that recipe on the cooking blog...it's a favorite!) and a Chocolate Cake that looks and smells like a killer.  I wish it were a killer of pounds instead of adding them on.  Valene (who isn't even in our Ward....just my dear friend) is bringing Crock Pot Lasagna.  Monique consented to do a Scalloped Corn with Cornbread topping recipe that I found.  Debbie W. is doing a soup and Artisan Bread.

Whew!  I was just getting out the stuff to do Orange Chicken a few minutes ago (I made it this week to try and liked it)...but then I said, "Enough already, Marilyn.  Just STOP!!!!"  (I actually did the Cafe Rio pork the other day and have it in the freezer AND a Caesar chicken in the refrigerator that I tried....really, I make myself nuts....)

Last night was a date night with David, Kirk and Cathy.  We had Jazz tickets and Cathy and I voted to go back to the Blue Lemon (twice in a row...I don't think we'll get away with it again Thursday!)  We played the Clippers and it was a kill.  Go Jazz!  Fun night.

My house smells so yummy right now but I'm ready to go back to bed.  I might have to take a little nap this afternoon.  I thinking I'll be dreaming about this chocolate cake. (Did I mention it has sour cream, chocolate chips and chocolate pudding in it?  And I'm making fresh whipped cream for the top....)  (Do you see why it is a "butters battle?")

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."


Martin Luther King

A Cottage of Love

 Friend Sheron from my Bucket group has always dreamed of having a backyard cottage for tea parties.  Her husband overheard her say that one time.  He decided to create one for her!  Below is the 20-year-old storage shed they had in their backyard.

This is what he transformed it into!  (Note:  the windows are from Ben Behunin, the potters' remodeling project.)  Don't you want to go here?  Doesn't it look like it could be in a magazine?

Don't you want to curl up inside with a book and read and have Sheron serving you amazing food and drink?  (She always does.  Remember the tea party she hosted for Bucket one time. http://constantgrowingamazement.blogspot.com/2008/06/mad-hatters.html ) (I loved re-reading about it.  How about those polka dot cups?)

I don't know whether I'm more moved by her beautiful cottage OR the fact that her husband created for her this dream!

(thanks sweet friend Sheron for allowing me to post this! xoxo)

Woof!

I wish it were sunny outside so I could go out and see if these butters would just melt away.

Totally frustrated.

Just ate a whole can of olives.  WHO does that?

Recently read a quote:  Do not reward yourself with food.  You're not a dog.


Woof!

How's your day?

Funny!

Today is my Chubba Wubba day.....so when I saw this, I really laughed.  This kid (by photographer Jarod Knoten. (the sign- quickmeme.com) is FABULOUS!  (go to Jarod Knoten's phtpgraphy to see the picture this picture came from.)

Totally Spaced Pepper Jellies!

Totally spaced one of my neighbor/friend gifts I did.  Remember all that pepper jelly I've been making?  Apriot and also Mixed Berry.  I put a jar of pepper jelly and a brick of cream cheese in a bag, with a tag showing how to cut the cream cheese like a tree....with a box of Wheat Thins.  On the back I gave a few ideas on how to use pepper jelly.  Over cream cheese for an appetizer.  On grilled meats as a marinade.  Mixed with vinegar and oil for a salad dressing.  Or, do as I do.  Pour it over a brick of cream cheese and get out a spoon and snarf the whole thing down.....

Hence, my saga with butters.....

Remnants of Christmas

Tuesday after Bucket I had to run by Libby's to pick up something and she still had her Christmas decor up.  I had seen before but had forgotten her "window trees."  I think they are wonderful.  She actually has 7 of them in windows.  She takes a small artificial tree and bends all the branches forward so it is flat on one side and decorates it, hangs it in a window.  When she travels (and they have traveled A LOT)- she always buys one ornament for a souvenir.  As you can see, she has quite the collection from all over the world!  This year they put numbers by each tree. (see last picture) and gave each of the grands a sheet with different ornaments to find.  They would have to then write down the tree where they found the ornament.  She said the kiddos loved it!  Kind of a Where's Waldo with ornaments. This would be a great idea for all those boxes of ornaments we've collected throughout the years. (She doesn't undecorate the trees...just wraps them in plastic and unwraps the next year.  That's MY kind of decorating!

Since I'm sharing remnants of Christmas, I'll put in my neighbor friend gifts I did this year.  Actually I do the holiday dishes every year.  I find a cute set of paper plates (I love Holly Lobby since they have darling dishes and they come in service for 20!) and add the tag that says, "Holidays busy?  No time for dishes?  Use these instead with our love and best wishes!"  It's a gift everyone could use during the busy season.



Holiday Dishes

I found a sparkling Pear cider that I loved this year and thought it would be cute to put a partridge in a pear tree tag on them.

Partridge in a Pear Tree

 And lastly, this picture didn't turn out so great but maybe you've seen the picture on Pinterest.  Our RS did these for birthday gifts last year and I've always loved mine.



Grateful Hands



I'd love to hear what you all did this year (or in year's past.)  I love the tradition of our neighbor gifts....and look forward to greetings we get throughout the holidays.

Can't believe it is over.  It's sad.  But wait!  Valentines is coming up!  Valentines!  Valentines!  So excited!

Scintillating

“The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.” C.S. Lewis

Yesterday was a "stellar" day.  It started off with trying two new crock pot recipes that I left cooking all day, then hurrying to our RS Pearl of Great Price class.  Always wonderful discussion.  A few things I'm pondering in my heart I'll share at another time. I love these women. I love the things I learn from each of them. Then  Bucket at Annette's home.  It was over-the-top wonderful.  Annette loves stars and that was her theme.  Look how cute the star bowls are!  We had two kinds of soup, spinach salad, homemade wheat bread.  Since we are studying the Book of Mormon in Gospel Doctrine this year, she asked us each to bring our favorite Book of Mormon scripture to share.  It was so beautiful and we'll mark in our Bk. of Mormons who's favorite is whose....and it will be there the rest of our lives. (I have in one of my old scriptures a note by the scripture "Oh that I were an angel......" marked as Donald's favorite (actually Dawn Duvall Martin- one of my high school friends.) 

Annette made this for dessert and I thought it was such a great idea. She dipped waffle bowls into melted white chocolate, then dipped them in crushed peppermint.  Ice cream and hot fudge filled the bowls. I thought they were so pretty! I didn't eat it since I'm doing butters

but I DID eat the star cookie that was the favor.....since I am a sugar cookie fanatic!  We won't talk butters here since THEN I remembered that it was GNO last night as well.  (Bucket was a week late due to the holidays.)  We all met at Salt Lake Burger (has a good grilled chicken salad)....and talked and talked for hours.  (It was a no-host.) Not a good day for eating low carb but it was a great day.  My emotional and spiritual buckets were filled!

I came home to kiddos.  Brandi's 3 girls, still off track for another week, are spending two nights.  Gracie and Hallee are taking ski lessons today and tomorrow (a great school package that includes 4 2-hour lessons, equipment and lift tickets) at Alta.  Thankfully David is here (he's rethinking retirement since I keep having jobs for him to do)...so he ran the girls up. (It takes about 20 minutes to drive up the canyon to Alta ski resort, 15 to Snowbird.)  Addi stayed with me and since T and T are in Mexico for a little vacation, I have Sadie and Nash for two days.  (Just days. Tenille's sister Heidi is doing the tough duty!  All 4 plus her two ...after school and nights.  Whew!)  This morning we've gone from Kid's Dance Wii to Barbie Mermaid (Sadie has about a 10 minute attention span- sounds like me) and now they are coloring and making puppets and I'm making them Popsicle stick airplanes.  Sadie has to change princess dresses every few minutes.  Things are crazy noisy fun.

I hope my kiddos grow up with wonderful, personal memories.  I'm sure one of Annette's love for stars roots back to her childhood...with a tender experience with her dad.  Her dad taught her (and they recited together often) this wonderful childhood nursery rhyme in more sophisticated terms.  See if you know what it is.  (And teach this to your kids and kiddos!  It's darling!)

Scintillate, scintillate, globule vivific,

Fain would I fathom thy nature's specific.

See

Loftily posed in ether capacious,

All day

Resembling somewhat a gem carbonaceous.

Wahoo! Butters!

I have been packing them around but they are gone!  Unfortunately they have many, many lard relatives lingering around (my waist, mostly!) but watch out!  Here today.  Gone tomorrow.  Well, maybe next week.  Or the week after! 

Today

~Woo-hoo!  I'm going back to art today!  After hosting class for about 4 years, and with my kiddo schedule, I had to put away my brushes last April.  But I think life might settle....someone else has agreed to host....I actually sketched my picture already ....  it's a new Santa so I'll be WAAAY ahead of the game next December!  I've missed my painting buddies as well.


~then our monthly VT luncheon at the new Brick Oven in South Jordan.  Love Brick Oven from college days in Provo.


~then maybe car shopping (for me) with David.  I am not a car shopper...I could care less about styles or makes of cars.  I only have a few things I insist upon-  the most important being that it can't be gray or white since I can't find it in the parking lot.  Even so, last time he brought home a gray one.  I said, "Well, it looks like you have a new car!"  And it has been.  I have realized that this new car will probably turn out like my Ipod.  He says it is mine but it really is his.  We'll see how this goes.....

~since I've started this, I've been to art and been to lunch.  Both wonderful. Santa is all based and looking good.  Lunch was salad....of course....since tomorrow I am posting butters! (How you doing, cousin?)

~(I'm home now and hubby's not...maybe he's out looking for "my" car. If you see me wandering around in the grocery parking lot for years, you'll know what color it is.)


~Everyone keeps asking how D. and I are doing with his retirement.  He's still been under the weather (for weeks now) so it isn't like it would normally be.  But his ex-secretary gave him a bag of cowboy stuff for Christmas and we've been making our way through it.  She included the series Lonesome Dove.  We've been watching it together several hours each night.  We never saw it on t.v. and it is totally the epitome of a guy-flick.  In chick flicks, people fall in love.  In guy flicks, everyone you love gets killed.  Between that and The Hunger Games, I've been shot up for life.

~I've been experimenting with different crock pot recipes for our next Creative Cooking. Yesterday I made a Thai Chicken with Cashews that was yummy and also Wild Rice with Fruit and Nuts. I'll post recipes after Creative Cooking (January 18th at 11:30 at Lor Bromley's home. Then a tasting at my house that evening for those that can't come during the day.) If anyone has wonderful crock pot recipes that they love, please share with me.  Soon.  Thanks!



~Loved a comment yesterday in Relief Society.  We were talking about making worthy goals for the new year and Paula Alvarez said she was going to throw her anchor out in the morning.  She recently heard a talk that said that fisherman always go out and throw their anchor first....then when they are secure, they can go about their business.  She likened it to starting the day off....reading our scriptures and having prayer....anchoring ourselves...and then we are secured for the day.  Love that.  Loved it so much I thought about having anchor as my new word this year. 


But I'm thinking "mercy."  Mercy has so many meanings....both the mercy we receive and the mercy we extend.  Today during lunch we talked about the need to be quick to forgive but also quick to not take offense.  And, of course, the mercy of God....manifest by His great love for all of us.  I found this quote that I love:


The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. (The Merchant of Venice) (William Shakespere)

Finally.  Finally.  Finally.  A skiff (my parent's word) of snow!  We can't even call it a "real snow" but it is still going so there is hope- I was just happy today to wake up to some white.  Last year was a record snowfall year and this year, not so much.  Last night, David and I and Kirk and Cathy went to the Jazz game (we beat Memphis Grizzlies) .....and Cathy and I were wearing sweaters.  No coats.  In January in Utah.  It's unreal.  Sad unreal.  Our resorts need tons! Our kiddos need some sledding. In a desert, snow is our lifeline.

Fun date last night.  Dinner at the Blue Lemon across from Temple Square.  My pear and gorgonzola salad was so delicious, I dreamt about it last night.  (that's what happens when you are doing "butters."  You dream about food.  Not quite as satisfying!)


Remember when I posted awhile ago about cute Cheri that lives in our Ward/neighborhood with the moustaches?  No, Cheri doesn't have a moustache....but she made a cute printable for Christmas about moustaches.  Well, she's getting ready to head off to New York ..... she's going to be on Martha Stewart at the end of the month!  How cool is that!  (And bummer, I saw that Martha is going to be cancelled at the end of the season.  I don't really watch her...I just like knowing that she is there.  And I especially love and use her website all the time.) (and I'm really sorry when I remember back many years ago, whenever I would see her picture, I would draw a moustache on it.  I appreciate her so much more now. (wow, this conversation has come full circle-moustache to moustache.)
(go to Cheri's website- www.iammommahearmeroar.blogspot.com   to see all the fun things Cheri does!)

Yesterday was my Chubba Wubba day. (Today is Tanner and Brooke's 3rd anniversary! Wahoo!)  How much has changed in the many months of watching him.  Although he's always been a good baby, he wouldn't eat or sleep or drink at my house.  He wouldn't cry as long as I was holding him....and because he is such a big boy, I'd end up having to ice my shoulder after he left! But now?  He finally started crawling and he loves eating and I strap him in his carseat and put him in our closet (a walk-in) and he actually naps.  I don't have a high chair so I put him in a walker to feed him and he takes a bite, then rolls around the kitchen floor, then comes back for another bite in a minute.  He just makes me laugh.  I have the whole house barracaded since he's here, there and everywhere!  I love his giggle.  He has 8 teeth.  He's 10 months old.  I just can't understand why the chubby on his legs looks so cute on him and not on me.....

I'm behind on my New Year all ready.  I'm still putting away Christmas and I haven't updated my obituary (snort!) and I haven't chosen my "word" for the year. My word has been "felicity" for the past two years.  I didn't accomplish it but hopefully I'm more aware.  If you have chosen a word, please share with me.  I need one to concentrate on.  I haven't done my year in review.  I haven't made New Year's resolutions. Got to get my rear in gear. (I used that expression since last night in the car, I shared how I had gone through an old scrapbook and found a letter I didn't send to an old roommate.  I laughed throughout the letter because of terms of expression.....everything was "hairy." Did you ever use that word?  Meaning complicated or frazzled or?  Kirk always uses the words, "Good grief!"  My brother always says that.  In the letter, I also used the phrase "that's the skinny."  And "this" is the skinny for today. (not talking about butters!)  Nothing big or exciting but I love 2012 already.