I'm still here. I haven't forgotten about my blog. However, with a fan base of about four people I have a hard time motivating myself to write sometimes. I know I should just do it for myself. After all, I did start the blog so it would be a fun way to journal. I would like to include some more interesting tidbits like recipes or pictures but I haven't really tried anything new lately and it's very difficult to download pictures onto my computer. I have had a few thoughts lately that I would like to include.
I hate August. It is the January of Summer--you know, when all the fun and excitement is over and there is not much to look forward to in the near future. The weather is at it's peak--we've had 100-degree weather for a week. On Saturday we only reached 93, which felt pleasant. When has 93 ever felt pleasant?
Anyway, the heat has killed my not-so-productive garden. I've decided that it's very difficult to garden here. My zucchini plant is the only thing that has been really productive. We did get one cucumber that was delicious before the heat killed everything. The beans could have been good if the infestation of the Japanese beetles had not occurred. I think next year I might stick to herbs. That was the only other thing that the deer didn't eat. If it's not one thing it's another, I guess.
Saturday we had a minute to go to the farmer's market. Almost every booth looked like they were set up to make salsa. We bought a few pounds of tomatoes, some jalapenos and some peppers. I came home and found a recipe online (which I won't be sharing. . . .keep reading) and bought the rest of the ingredients at the grocery store. It could have, should have been delicious. However, the total yield did not quite add up to what the recipe said. I was supposed to have four pints at the end and only had 3 1/2. I don't know if the recipe was wrong or if I messed up (I think a little of both) but the salsa is horrible. It tastes like vinegar with a little bit of vegetables added. What a waste. I hope there is a way to salvage it.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Friday, August 3, 2007
The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie
I claim to be on a quest for the best chocolate chip recipe. When I find it I will let you know. So far I have at least three "favorite" chocolate chip cookie recipes. One is just a plain ol' chocolate chip cookie which uses half butter, half shortening. I also like the recipe that uses the ground-up oatmeal that has falsely been accused of being a clone of the Mrs. Field's and Nieman Marcus recipes. When I'm in a really chocolate mood I opt for the Double Trouble recipe that my sister gave me. It's a chocolate cookie with chocolate chips and sometimes I add the Andes mint chips for a little surprise. I would add another recipe of my sister's, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, which are really yummy but since Kennedy has a peanut allergy I choose not to make those. They really are good though.
I tried a new one today called "Mississippi Mud Cookies" that really were good. They might be on my list depending how they taste tomorrow. It has all the right ingredients: chocolate dough, milk chocolate chips, pecans and toasted marshmallows. I was surprised at how much the recipe really takes on the flavor of the traditional Mississippi Mud cake. I found the recipe in my August issue of Southern Living, which has been my favorite magazine for some time.
Go ahead, try them and see what you think.
I tried a new one today called "Mississippi Mud Cookies" that really were good. They might be on my list depending how they taste tomorrow. It has all the right ingredients: chocolate dough, milk chocolate chips, pecans and toasted marshmallows. I was surprised at how much the recipe really takes on the flavor of the traditional Mississippi Mud cake. I found the recipe in my August issue of Southern Living, which has been my favorite magazine for some time.
Go ahead, try them and see what you think.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Travel Log
I didn't mean for this to be a travel log but I have to write about my trip to Utah. We had such a great time and each year I go I remember why I make the trek out every summer.
First I have to say that my kids did great on the flights. It was such a long day travelling it would not have surprised me if they were miserable. We held it together until the car ride from the Las Vegas airport to St. George. Kennedy was just getting over a cold and I think that combined with the ear pressure from the airplane, the long day and sitting in the back seat of the car was just too much. As we turned into the Target parking lot in St. George she threw up. Poor thing. She was much better the next day and we were able to have a healthy trip the rest of the time.
Our first major event was preparing for my niece's baby shower. Tyffanee is expecting her first baby, a girl, and we decided at the last minute to throw a shower for her. Even though she isn't from Beaver we have a lot of relatives there and we had a good turn out with a few out-of-towners, including her mom, sister and mother-in-law. Since we decided to host the shower last minute (five days notice for guests) we gave the option of going in on a group gift. This turned out to be a great thing because we were able to get her a Pack-n-Play, a Baby Bjorn and a high chair. She also got lots of cute clothes, blankets and other fun things. I'm so excited to see my cute niece be a mom.
Our next great adventure was celebrating Pioneer Day. My sister came to town and Kennedy enjoyed playing with her cousin, Megyn. My niece, Alyssa, also stayed with us along with her friend Mary. We had a houseful but the more the merrier. Beaver starts Pioneer Day off with their own tradition. At approximately 6 a.m. dynamite can be heard in intervals all around town. Wake up! Time to get ready for the day. After listening to this for about 15 minutes I am ready to get up. My sister and brother-in-law head to the high school track to do the 5K. Alison and I walk because I am usually not in shape for it. It's a fun time to have with my sister, however.
After the 5K we rush home to shower and get ready for the parade. This year Beaver was hosting a little league tournament so a lot of the floats were trucks filled with cute little baseball players from all over the country. The rest of the parade was unremarkable. I was a little disappointed this year. After the parade we head down to the city park where there are kid's foot races (which we never do because I hated them when I was a kid), snow cones, hot dogs, moon bounce and slide, and old friends. Everyone who left Beaver comes home for Pioneer Day and we hope to see each other at the park. It's our yearly reunion. I saw more friends this year than usual, which is fun.
After the festivities at the park we made ready for a family cook-out. We were going to head up the canyon but it turned out to be a rainy day so we went to a local park instead. My mom and her two sisters still live where they have always lived--within two blocks of each other. They all gather their families together and we have a potluck. My cousin, Wade, brought his pony and cart to take the kids on rides. Kennedy loved that. Meanwhile, my dad and I went to check out some antique cars parked along the block--about 7 or 8 cars all belonging to the same man. He happened to pull up in his 1922 speedster and offered to take me for a ride. I love antique cars so I took him up on it. He couldn't convince me to drive it though. That was the highlight of my day.
I told Kennedy that if she took a nap she could stay up for the fireworks. She thought that was a great idea until they actually started. She wanted to go home right now. She then told me that the next time I tell her that she can stay up for fireworks she WON'T take a nap. She made it through and I enjoyed the show too.
I was able to visit with some of my dear friends whom I don't get to see very often. I was able to visit my old high school friends Melanie, Kerrie, Debbie and Alison. I met Lucy at Thanksgiving Point and we went through the Dinosaur Museum. We had a nice visit from Chris's brother and his wife. They spoiled the kids for a whole day. My mom and I took the kids to the "This is the Place Pioneer Park" which was fun. My sister and her kids volunteer there. It was a fun place to spend the day. We also met Nana and Poppa at Thanksgiving Point for a few hours and toured the beautiful gardens there. We had such a good time and it was nice for the kids to see the Kelsey Grandparents since they haven't seen them for a year. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. We feel so loved when we go back to Utah.
Some other highlights of the trip were shopping at many quilt stores, reading the final book of Harry Potter, going on walks with no humidity, and just relaxing a little bit. Now it is time to get back to reality.
First I have to say that my kids did great on the flights. It was such a long day travelling it would not have surprised me if they were miserable. We held it together until the car ride from the Las Vegas airport to St. George. Kennedy was just getting over a cold and I think that combined with the ear pressure from the airplane, the long day and sitting in the back seat of the car was just too much. As we turned into the Target parking lot in St. George she threw up. Poor thing. She was much better the next day and we were able to have a healthy trip the rest of the time.
Our first major event was preparing for my niece's baby shower. Tyffanee is expecting her first baby, a girl, and we decided at the last minute to throw a shower for her. Even though she isn't from Beaver we have a lot of relatives there and we had a good turn out with a few out-of-towners, including her mom, sister and mother-in-law. Since we decided to host the shower last minute (five days notice for guests) we gave the option of going in on a group gift. This turned out to be a great thing because we were able to get her a Pack-n-Play, a Baby Bjorn and a high chair. She also got lots of cute clothes, blankets and other fun things. I'm so excited to see my cute niece be a mom.
Our next great adventure was celebrating Pioneer Day. My sister came to town and Kennedy enjoyed playing with her cousin, Megyn. My niece, Alyssa, also stayed with us along with her friend Mary. We had a houseful but the more the merrier. Beaver starts Pioneer Day off with their own tradition. At approximately 6 a.m. dynamite can be heard in intervals all around town. Wake up! Time to get ready for the day. After listening to this for about 15 minutes I am ready to get up. My sister and brother-in-law head to the high school track to do the 5K. Alison and I walk because I am usually not in shape for it. It's a fun time to have with my sister, however.
After the 5K we rush home to shower and get ready for the parade. This year Beaver was hosting a little league tournament so a lot of the floats were trucks filled with cute little baseball players from all over the country. The rest of the parade was unremarkable. I was a little disappointed this year. After the parade we head down to the city park where there are kid's foot races (which we never do because I hated them when I was a kid), snow cones, hot dogs, moon bounce and slide, and old friends. Everyone who left Beaver comes home for Pioneer Day and we hope to see each other at the park. It's our yearly reunion. I saw more friends this year than usual, which is fun.
After the festivities at the park we made ready for a family cook-out. We were going to head up the canyon but it turned out to be a rainy day so we went to a local park instead. My mom and her two sisters still live where they have always lived--within two blocks of each other. They all gather their families together and we have a potluck. My cousin, Wade, brought his pony and cart to take the kids on rides. Kennedy loved that. Meanwhile, my dad and I went to check out some antique cars parked along the block--about 7 or 8 cars all belonging to the same man. He happened to pull up in his 1922 speedster and offered to take me for a ride. I love antique cars so I took him up on it. He couldn't convince me to drive it though. That was the highlight of my day.
I told Kennedy that if she took a nap she could stay up for the fireworks. She thought that was a great idea until they actually started. She wanted to go home right now. She then told me that the next time I tell her that she can stay up for fireworks she WON'T take a nap. She made it through and I enjoyed the show too.
I was able to visit with some of my dear friends whom I don't get to see very often. I was able to visit my old high school friends Melanie, Kerrie, Debbie and Alison. I met Lucy at Thanksgiving Point and we went through the Dinosaur Museum. We had a nice visit from Chris's brother and his wife. They spoiled the kids for a whole day. My mom and I took the kids to the "This is the Place Pioneer Park" which was fun. My sister and her kids volunteer there. It was a fun place to spend the day. We also met Nana and Poppa at Thanksgiving Point for a few hours and toured the beautiful gardens there. We had such a good time and it was nice for the kids to see the Kelsey Grandparents since they haven't seen them for a year. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. We feel so loved when we go back to Utah.
Some other highlights of the trip were shopping at many quilt stores, reading the final book of Harry Potter, going on walks with no humidity, and just relaxing a little bit. Now it is time to get back to reality.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Spa Night
Last night was my first big Enrichment Meeting. I only have three people on my committee so there was a lot of planning on my part. We had a "Spa" night. Our spiritual message was on "loving who you are". We asked someone who is leaving the ward this summer to do that and she did a great job.
When we fist started planning we had too many things planned for the night so we decided to double up on the classes and have two being taught at the same time, different rooms. We had four classes, skin care, color analysis, women's health issues--stress management, and hair tips. We wanted to have an exercise class and manicures for the end but that didn't work out. In then end, one of our speakers cancelled last minute. We ended up all staying in the Relief Society room for all of the speakers.
I was surprised at the number of people we had. I didn't count but I bet we had between 30-40 which is good for our ward. Our activities have not been that well attended. All the speakers we had lined up did an excellent job. Everyone listening seemed really interested too.
We topped the night off with chocolate fondue and dippers. Yum!
When we fist started planning we had too many things planned for the night so we decided to double up on the classes and have two being taught at the same time, different rooms. We had four classes, skin care, color analysis, women's health issues--stress management, and hair tips. We wanted to have an exercise class and manicures for the end but that didn't work out. In then end, one of our speakers cancelled last minute. We ended up all staying in the Relief Society room for all of the speakers.
I was surprised at the number of people we had. I didn't count but I bet we had between 30-40 which is good for our ward. Our activities have not been that well attended. All the speakers we had lined up did an excellent job. Everyone listening seemed really interested too.
We topped the night off with chocolate fondue and dippers. Yum!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Normal People
I've really slacked in the blogging department since we moved to our new house. I can think of two reasons:
1. Our computer is in an upstairs location just outside the kids' rooms. So, when it's nap time I don't usually get on the computer anymore.
2. Life has been really busy!
Almost two weeks ago we took a trip to Washington D.C. I want to write more about that when I am able to download some pictures.
This past Friday Chris finished his residency. . . .just like that! After almost 12 years of knowing him he has finally reached the goal he had in mind when we met. It's been a long haul and we have had some ups and downs but it's finally here.
I was invited to attend the departments end-of-year luncheon. I made arrangements for Tristan to go to a friend's house and I took Kennedy with me. It was a nice buffet-style lunch with a lot of the people from the department there--mostly physicians, residents, techs and some support staff. Chris was awarded an outstanding research award which I missed because I was taking someone to the restroom. The residents presented him with a nice gift certificate to Orvis. Some of the doctors stood up to say some nice things about Chris. Then Chris got up to say a few words. He said he wanted to thank three people. He thanked me first and much to my surprise he got emotional. That made me get teary eyed too. Then he thanked one of the secretaries and his mentor Dr. Marks. He presented Dr. Marks with a quilt I made for him. Again, I will write more on the quilt when I'm able to download the picture. It was a nice day and I had such a giddy feeling in my heart all day long. So glad he's done.
He started his new job yesterday and had a fabulous day in the clinic. After almost 12 years of having smaller goals to reach and moving every 3-5 years we aren't sure what to do next. I guess just live like normal people!
1. Our computer is in an upstairs location just outside the kids' rooms. So, when it's nap time I don't usually get on the computer anymore.
2. Life has been really busy!
Almost two weeks ago we took a trip to Washington D.C. I want to write more about that when I am able to download some pictures.
This past Friday Chris finished his residency. . . .just like that! After almost 12 years of knowing him he has finally reached the goal he had in mind when we met. It's been a long haul and we have had some ups and downs but it's finally here.
I was invited to attend the departments end-of-year luncheon. I made arrangements for Tristan to go to a friend's house and I took Kennedy with me. It was a nice buffet-style lunch with a lot of the people from the department there--mostly physicians, residents, techs and some support staff. Chris was awarded an outstanding research award which I missed because I was taking someone to the restroom. The residents presented him with a nice gift certificate to Orvis. Some of the doctors stood up to say some nice things about Chris. Then Chris got up to say a few words. He said he wanted to thank three people. He thanked me first and much to my surprise he got emotional. That made me get teary eyed too. Then he thanked one of the secretaries and his mentor Dr. Marks. He presented Dr. Marks with a quilt I made for him. Again, I will write more on the quilt when I'm able to download the picture. It was a nice day and I had such a giddy feeling in my heart all day long. So glad he's done.
He started his new job yesterday and had a fabulous day in the clinic. After almost 12 years of having smaller goals to reach and moving every 3-5 years we aren't sure what to do next. I guess just live like normal people!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Recipe Naming Contest
About 3 1/2 years ago we were visiting Chris's aunt in Bountiful when she served this yummy dish. There is no name for it and really no recipe. I even searched the Internet trying to pin down some specific measurements but came up with nothing. I don't even have a name for it. So, any suggestions?
Meat:
1 pork butt/shoulder roast
Coke (about 1 cup)
Ketchup (about 1 cup)
Brown Sugar (about 1/2 cup)
Combine and cook all day in slow cooker or crock pot--I put it in the night before and had it for a luncheon the next day.
Remove pork and shred. Mix in some of the reserved liquid and add more ketchup and brown sugar to taste. Heat in slow cooker/crock pot.
Serve on tortillas with rice, black beans, sour cream, Monterrey cheese, salsa, corn, etc.
As a side dish I served Minted Pineapple:
1 fresh pineapple, cut into bite-size chunks or slices
4 Tbs sugar
8 mint leaves
Combine sugar and mint in food processor or blender and mix until mint is chopped into tiny pieces. Sprinkle over fresh pineapple chunks.
Meat:
1 pork butt/shoulder roast
Coke (about 1 cup)
Ketchup (about 1 cup)
Brown Sugar (about 1/2 cup)
Combine and cook all day in slow cooker or crock pot--I put it in the night before and had it for a luncheon the next day.
Remove pork and shred. Mix in some of the reserved liquid and add more ketchup and brown sugar to taste. Heat in slow cooker/crock pot.
Serve on tortillas with rice, black beans, sour cream, Monterrey cheese, salsa, corn, etc.
As a side dish I served Minted Pineapple:
1 fresh pineapple, cut into bite-size chunks or slices
4 Tbs sugar
8 mint leaves
Combine sugar and mint in food processor or blender and mix until mint is chopped into tiny pieces. Sprinkle over fresh pineapple chunks.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
I Need a Prince
Kennedy's favorite movie lately is "Barbie: 12 Dancing Princesses" She loves to dance around when the princesses take the stage. Yesterday I turned it on for her while I tried to finish a quilt that has a deadline.
I heard Kennedy pattering around downstairs and then dead silence. I wondered what was going on. When I went down to check on her she was nowhere in sight. I finally found her in the garage. She was getting her ballet shoes that were in the car. She wanted to put them on to dance in the living room. Cute girl!
I went back to my sewing and then I heard her clamouring up the stairs. Tristan was asleep so I poked my head out the door to tell her "shhhh". She ran into her room and grabbed her bear who is supposed to stay in her room now because he's starting to fall apart. When I told her to put him back she said, "but I need a prince". She must have reached the part in the movie where the princesses are dancing with princes.
I heard Kennedy pattering around downstairs and then dead silence. I wondered what was going on. When I went down to check on her she was nowhere in sight. I finally found her in the garage. She was getting her ballet shoes that were in the car. She wanted to put them on to dance in the living room. Cute girl!
I went back to my sewing and then I heard her clamouring up the stairs. Tristan was asleep so I poked my head out the door to tell her "shhhh". She ran into her room and grabbed her bear who is supposed to stay in her room now because he's starting to fall apart. When I told her to put him back she said, "but I need a prince". She must have reached the part in the movie where the princesses are dancing with princes.
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