Spring Storms

We woke up to snow this morning. Spring storms don't really bother me since the snow doesn't usually stick on roads and the driveway so really it was okay. Andrew had a project he had to take to school (We didn't get a picture of it finished. Oops. We put sand in the bottom and attached two pictures of whale sharks. It turned out pretty cute.) so I drove the kids instead of having them ride the bus.

I had on a navy blue Disneyland sweatshirt, no bra (it's a very big and thick sweatshirt and I am part of the IBTC so I don't feel too bad about it) and navy and white plaid flannel PJ pants and shoes that are slippers, or slippers that are sort of like shoes. Can you see where this is going?

We get half way to school and the gas light comes on in the car. Paul ran it out of gas over the weekend. Doh! At this point I am now half way to the store/gas so after I drop off the kids I drive down to get some gas. I stand out in my pj's getting said gas and then think, while I am here it would be silly to not get what I need for dinner. Sooo I went into the store and subjected all those poor shoppers to the horrors of seeing a mom wearing inappropriate clothing, no bra, slippers and no make-up.

I got what I needed and tonight we had a delicious dinner of Potato Leek Soup, sour dough bread from San Francisco and fresh pineapple (a family favorite). It was the perfect meal for a cool, snowy day. This is a picture I took of it for my recipe book I made a few years ago.

Now we don't get our panties in a twist around here about things like fat, cholesterol and calories (I know it's obvious) so if you do worry about those things this recipe is not for you! We only eat it a few times each year but we all love it. It goes together quickly and it couldn't be easier to make.

Twilight

Tonight I finally watched Twilight. Maggie and I were supposed to see it in December and then they moved up the release date to when we were in California. After that I heard that there were screaming women in the theaters so we opted out of the theater experience and waited for DVD. She brought it over tonight and we just got done watching.

Here is my official review. Overall, I really liked it!

I was mentally prepared to hate it. I had heard how cheesy it was, how terrible the acting was and how it was really choppy leaving out many important parts. Overall I thought they did a good job of hitting all the highlights in the book.

I read Twilight right before New Moon came out. Before I started it I had seen the pictures that Stephanie Meyer had on her blog of how she envisioned the characters so the whole time I was reading the books those are the faces I saw.

I loved Robert as Edward. Didn't know if I would since he looked so different than Henry Cavill, but I thought he did great and now I join the ranks of the other 30 somethings that are swooning over a boy.

This = Yummy!

I hated Kristen as Bella. Couldn't figure that casting out and still don't get it after watching the movie. I liked the actor who played Emmitt but the rest of the family? I wasn't too fond of them. They just weren't attractive enough and Carlisle was too young. Jasper looked like he was walking around with a stick up his butt!

I would like to add that I thought that hair and makeup was awful. The wigs were really bad and at some points it looked like they had dipped the actor's faces in baby powder. I am hoping they have more budget on the second one and some of those things will get fixed.

I may buy it some day but for now I am just glad to have seen it and relieved that I wasn't disappointed. Yes it was cheesy and some of the acting sucked but again, I liked it.

$12.00 later...

I can now upload my full sized backgrounds using Photobucket Pro. (No more shrunken sweaters) I'm not sure it is worth paying money for customized backgrounds though. I had to pay for three months so I will be changing it out during that time. It looks like my dimensions got off so I will be working that out. Fun stuff, NOT!

I'm experiencing technical difficulties.

My blog background is like a wool sweater that went through the dryer. I made a spring background (the same way I have been doing it since last year) that coordinates with my header but when I upload it to photobucket it is too constrained and it looks like it is way too small for the space. I don't know what to do at this point. I don't know if upgrading to pro will fix it or not but I am ticked off right now, big time. If you have any tips or helpful advice I would love to hear it. TIA!

The First Day of Spring

Join me in a happy dance!

Emma and I took a walk last night to admire all the beautiful flowers that have sprung up during the last week. As I was driving home this morning I hopped out of my car a took a few pictures. The lighting was terrible so I need to go back and try again (I hear it is suppose to storm this weekend so I need to do it soon) but this will give you an idea of what I get to see when I drive down my street. 

Want to know what my favorite part of today was? Stopping in the middle of the road for a quail couple to cross. They are so cute and it won't be long before there is a string of babies following behind them. Enjoy spring everyone. 

Utter Randomness

Ahhh. I almost forgot. Yesterday we got good mail. We got our tickets to Stadium of Fire. This is our first time going inside. Usually we are sitting out by the Marriott center watching the show with about a million of our closet friends. We had wanted to go last year (it was the first time we could afford to go) but then they got Miley Cyrus to come and the tickets sold out instantly. We were so out of luck. (unless we wanted to spend the $1,000 people had them listed on Ebay for) This year we bought tickets before we even knew who would be performing. We found out later that it is the Jonas Brothers. Emma isn't as excited as we thought she would be but we are going and that thrills me!

I was suppose to work today but Gary called last night and said not to come in. I was so excited that I would get to have the quite morning to finish my lesson for Relief Society today. I figured that way I would have all of Friday and Saturday to just practice it.

There are two conference talks that I have to cover. I have been reading through them and thinking about this lesson since January! I have a pretty good grasp on how I am going to intermingle them and present them but I am at a point where I need to decide what to cut out of each and it is throwing me for a loop. So here I am blogging. At least I have some laundry going so I'm not a total slacker.

I have also come to realize that if I have other projects hanging over my head I can't focus. Even though card group isn't until next week I busied myself (AKA not doing my lesson) by making the cards, this week. I am also spending too much time over-thinking the door decoration for teacher appreciation week. (More to come on that Monday)

Anyhoo here are my cards. They're nothing fancy, but I did step outside of my box and did some stitching on them and they are done with a week to spare.

Last night we went to a skate party. Emma had been practicing riding on her roller blades with Jenna just for this occasion. They would work their way up the hill and then come speeding back down. I chose not to watch this. It made me nervous. She came in on Tuesday with a big raspberry on her knee.

She didn't make a big deal out of it at all. The next day it had stiffened up and the gauze had gotten stuck to it. (Oh the whaling and gnashing of teeth. Please don't let me be anywhere near her when she gives birth) but that didn't stop her from skating. It did stop her from changing into pants that matched her t-shirt that she was suppose to wear.

We love that they allow scooters there. (Andrew's in the green sweatshirt, yes he wore it two days in a row)

It was fun talking and hanging out friends while the kids did their thing but it was loud and DIRTY. My arm kept getting stuck to my table. Ewww. The food there left a little to be desired as well. You had your choice of crappy pizza, bad nachos or a dirty water weenie (Maybe they were roasted. Who knows, really who cares? I wasn't taking my chances with any "meat" from a skating rink) We opted for crappy pizza and bad nachos.

After we were done skating we got a "FREE MEAL" (I hate how they yell that out) from Cafe Rio because you know, eating a giant, chicken burrito served enchilada style at 8:30 at night is always a good idea for someone wanting to drop a few (like 30) pounds. After that we headed home, got the kids showered up and put them to bed. They crashed pretty quick last night and that's always a good thing.

Now on to other randomness.

As you know one of my resolutions was to try a lot of new things this year. Recipes, restaurants, stores and locations are all included. We have been doing really well with this resolution and it has been a lot of fun. There are others that I am struggling with a bit more though. Yes I had soda last night, twice. Shut up!

On Sunday we made steaks with Jack Daniels Sauce, another new recipe. It is something I had been wanting to try for years. We finally got brave enough to buy the whisky while we were in Wyoming for New Year's so there was nothing stopping us except the weather. Now that it is officially grilling season again we went for it. I wouldn't say it is exactly like TGI Fridays but it is super close.

Here is a link to the recipe. If you need a Tablespoon of Jack let me know. ;) I will also put the recipe here.

This seriously took almost three hours to make and good grief did our house stink while the garlic was roasting. Whoa! I finished it before church (No one told me I smelled like garlic on Sunday. We you all just being nice?) and kept it in the fridge while we were gone. I had to heat it back through when we got home because it has gotten too thick. Also you don't want to marinade in this because of all the sugar. Sugar in marinades is what causes your steak to burn and get crusty. We soaked ours in teriyaki and then basted the meat with this at the very end, like a minute or two on each side. We had a little dish of it to dip into and that is where it's at. I didn't dip a couple of bites into it and it wasn't as good. You must dip!

Jack Daniel's Grill Glaze

Ingredients:

1 head garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

2/3 cup water

1 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup teriyaki sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 1/3 cup dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons minced white onion (I used dry onion from my food storage and it worked fine)

1 tablespoon Jack Daniels Whiskey

1 tablespoon crushed pineapple

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

Cut about 1/2-inch off of top of garlic. Cut the roots so that the garlic will sit flat. Remove the papery skin from the garlic, but leave enough so that the cloves stay together.

Put garlic into a small casserole dish or baking pan, drizzle olive oil over it, and cover with a lid or foil. Bake in a preheated 325 oven for 1 hour. Remove garlic and let it cool until you can handle it.

Combine water, pineapple juice, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium/high heat. Stir occasionally until mixture boils then reduce heat until mixture is just simmering.

Squeeze the sides of the head of garlic until the pasty roasted garlic is squeezed out. Measure 2 teaspoons into the saucepan and whisk to combine. Add remaining ingredients to the pan and stir.

Let mixture simmer for 40-50 minutes or until sauce has reduced by about 1/2 and is thick and syrupy. Make sure it doesn't boil over.

Now I am off to finish up my lesson. Wish me luck.

Are you ready for some pictures???

This morning I was up and in the store by 10:00 am. I got the balloons and a few other final touches. Paul had asked me to meet him for lunch so I started setting the table as soon as I was home. By 11:30 everything was done. I had even made the green rice crispy treats. This is how things looked by the time the kids got home.

Each place had it's own tiny mug with gold coins, a goodie bag with candy and a green bead necklace.

I tied them with some ribbon and raffia.
I had to take a picture of my shamrock plants on Saint Patrick's Day right?
Here are the green M&M's. You know what they say about the green ones ;)
Here we all are. Say Cheesy! The kids not clubbing each other.
Andrew eating his green crispy treat.
Emma just being cute.
Can you tell I love these little mugs?
Dinner was yummy, we all got nice and full and now we are winding down for a mellow evening. I hope you all had a happy St. Patrick's Day!

I Love Silly Traditions

Last night we taste tested the chocolate ice cream cake I won from Cold Stone while I was in the audience of Good Things Utah. The ganache was a bit too dark chocolaty for my tastes but the inside was good.

This morning I had forgotten that it is St. Patrick's Day. I got up 15 minutes before the kids. I went and did some playing on the computer when I saw a reminder on Facebook from Paul's aunt to "wear green". Eeek! I hurried into the closet where we keep off season clothes and found these little beauties.

It is too cold to wear them alone so I threw them on over my other pj's. Paul HATES these pants more than words can describe. He insisted on taking a picture of me (I think he assumed I would hurry out of them, but no, I kept them on just for him)

I rushed upstairs and started making green eggs for the kids. They wanted green milk on their cereal and to drink. Of course I obliged.

We got them all dress in green from head to toe and sent them off to school.

Now my work begins. I have a to do list that I have to complete before the kids get home.

Last year I worked on St. Patrick's Day and didn't have the table set when the kids arrived back from school. I didn't think too much of it since I was still going to have a green dinner but when Andrew came in from school he went right to the dining room and came out with tears. He was so disappointed that I hadn't followed the tradition they have come to love.

Whenever there is a holiday like Valentine's or St. Patrick's Day I have the table all decked out when they come home and they have to wait patiently for Paul's return from work. I thought they would get a kick out of helping me decorate last year but they didn't. They like to come home to a surprise.

Tonight we are having Pesto pasta and grilled chicken (not Irish, but green), green rolls, salad, maybe jell-o, and green grapes. On the table we will have the green table cloth, green and gold candies like Reese's peanut butter cups (I keep out green and gold candies from Christmas just for this holiday) , I found a bag of all green M&M's, I plan to make Rice Crispy Treats with some green food coloring for dessert, I have gold coins and plan to get a balloon bouquet with a few other little fun goodies up my sleeve. Of course there will be lots of pictures.

I just love days like today!!!

We Had So Much Fun!!!

Today Gary, Julia and I went up to a taping of Good Things Utah. We got free ice cream from Cold Stone, some cute acrylic letters that were given out by Robert's Crafts and I won an ice cream cake from Cold Stone by answering a trivia question. Come on, who doesn't know that Angie worked at McDonald's?

I loved seeing all the behinds the scenes stuff. I couldn't believe how much people walked around with heels clomping on the hard wood floor. I am surprised we don't hear more noises while watching. While one girl is in the kitchen the other are sitting off screen chatting it up. It looked like such a fun job.

It was a really fun show today. They had a fashion show put on by Chic Boutique, Cold Stone was there talking about the parties they can do, there was jewelry making with Robert's, a kitchen segment and a craft segment with a die cut machine that one audience member won. It was worth $400! Too bad I didn't get that, dang it.

I haven't watched the tape yet my parent's said they showed us twice. The girls were so friendly, funny and TINY! Holy cow were they thin. I would love to go back again.

Ooh ooh ooh! I almost forgot. We also taped a promo for tomorrow's show. I don't know if it is for a commercial for GTU or if it will be a tease in tomorrow's show opener. Either way we are standing one row behind Reagan and we all got to yell NO! (They are doing a segment on saying no and not feeling guilty about it)

I'm 99.9% sure....

that I am going to a taping of Good Things Utah tomorrow. If I don't it is because one of the kids got sick during the night but I am not too worried about that.

I was suppose to go last Thursday with Gary and Julia but it just didn't feel right. Emma and Paul were going skiing so no one would be around if Andrew needed something or if something happened to him at school. It would have been a hassle getting everyone ready in the morning I wanted to be home by noon for a special lunch date and so on and so on. As it turns out there was a mess up and they weren't going to be featured that day so they didn't even stay for the taping.

Their product (Gary's Soft Caramel Corn) will be a Tuesday Trivia giveaway. With the problems they had last week they rescheduled the audience giveaway for Monday. Paul has early class in Monday so there won't be any fighting over hot water for the shower, I can get ready before the kids get up and he will be around if the kids have a problem. I am excited that I get to go.

I am hoping for a chance to meet the girls and get some pictures with them to post here. If you live in Utah watch for me in the audience!

Oh the things we do for our children

Today I was a Leprechaun along with Maggie, Irene and Tessa. Well, not really, but we sort of looked liked them. The PTA sells candy grams a couple times a year and today I took a shift helping with the sale. Maggie was in charge of the staffing and I can't say no to her since she is always there for me. We worked from 11:30a.m. until after 2:00p.m. selling, delivering and counting the money. We all had a really great time. Shhh. Don't tell but I would be totally willing to do it again as long as it is with the same fun group.

Today we were one with nature.

First we saw this guy on our way to lunch.

Then we went to a retention basin that is sort of up behind our house and that is when we found this little guy.

Then we went about our business collecting rocks for Andrew's project 

when we found this. Part of the tiny little creek was frozen. The ice had formed really cool patterns.

Then we got to this. 

It is where the water/ice melt that flows down from the mountain empties into the retention basin. Can you tell that it's been a little chilly around these parts? The ice provided us all with a lot of fun. We were trying to shatter the ice but that didn't happen. Our big rocks broke through the ice and the small ones bounced across it.

Here is Andrew checking to make sure he got everything he needed then we were good to go. 

Does the world need another recipe blog?

Heck no!

I know that I have posted two in as many days but I promise it won't be a regular occurrence. My thought is there have got to be others out there who struggle with dinner ideas like I do. If I manage to make a nice, complete meal I may post about it in hopes of giving someone else some ideas. Tonight our dinner was really good. It was also quick and easy.

We had three different kinds of chicken kabobs (we love kabobs because they cook so quickly), the salad I posted about the other day, baked potatoes, homemade rolls and fresh pineapple.

This is the recipe that we used for Paul's chicken. I found the recipe on Allrecipes.com. It is very mild, not a ton of flavor, but Paul loves it.

I had my chicken brushed with olive oil and then used Citrus Seasoning from Durkee. The kid's chicken was brushed with olive oil also and sprinkled with just salt, pepper and season salt.

For the rolls I make a batch, let them rise, punch them down, shape them and then immediately freeze them on a cookie sheet. After they are hard I store the frozen rolls in a freezer bag. When we want rolls we just thaw what we need (I even microwave them for about 30 seconds to get them started) and we have fresh hot roll in less that 30 minutes.

Last night we had breakfast for dinner. I wanted to use the leftover bacon from the tortellini dish and no one complained. I think I might be on a roll.

Last but not least. I am making some progress. I need to work out the "pattern," I don't want any two like blocks too close together, and then I can start sewing squares. My goal is to have this one done before General Conference so I can cut out a new one without any guilt while watching a Saturday session. It is a very realistic goal, but with me you never know.