True Love

From My Two Lips To Yours...

From my husband.
Does he KNOW me or what?
VivaciousTulips... And a Mountain Dew....
True Love. Right there.

Resolutions: Soda Spirits & Spiritual

Where can I buy a Diet Coke Patch?

Not for me. For the Hubster.

1. He's a diabetic; basically weaned directly onto TAB as a 14yrold. (I know, he's old huh?)

2. He/We are Mormon so that basically limits a dude at the drink bar to seltzer water or Diet Soda. (Often he has to fight the secretaries off for the last Diet Coke at office parties... I've seen it happen, NOT pretty).

3. It's the main reason he gets along so well with my mother. They are both Diet Coke addicts and it works out so smoothly for each of them. (Diet Coke run anyone? Why yes you're such a SWEET son-in-law! Oft heard phrases during family gatherings.)

Resolution Numero UNO:

No more soda. He's been making plans for it for weeks now. Those plans included drinking (in fairly large quantities) all the soda hanging around the house. Plus several 44oz Circle K runs. But he was commited to his goal. And on New Year's Day, 2010: My husband (AKA diet coke runs through his veins) officially gave up Diet Coke. Cold Turkey. Dead Duck. Or whatever.

And here we are day 4. Soda free. Caffeine free. Dare I say it...? Diet COKE free. Yes. 4 whole days. Can he make it? I'm rooting for him so let's hope so!

I've been threatened with a slow painful death if I even say one word about how much Fruit2O and/or Propel he's drinking instead of soda but what the heck? He says no headaches, or even any real cravings.

The other thing I haven't mentioned is that he has taken up running. He's following a program that helps you start slow with walking inbetween jogging with the whole goal being NOT to get hurt, while taking up the jogging sport.

Resolution Numero Dos and the rest... (my turn)

I have my own teeny tiny soda addiction. I tried giving up Mountain Dew last year. I don't drink a lot but it was clearly becoming a need VS. an afternoon snack. And the main reason I failed last year was because my dear Hubby kept bringing me home 20 ouncers on the weekend! He was the enabler no doubt. Well not this time. If he can cold turkey the DC then I'm Dead Ducking the MD... (or something like that).

But my main goal this year is spiritual. For myself. To find quiet time. 5 minutes. That's all I ask. To meditate quietly. To pray. To find inspiration. Can I do it? Will Twitter interfere? Will my 5yrold?

Another thing is that in Oregon Cell Phones have officially been banned in the car. And since I'm working to diminish my cellular dependance, I've decided to leave it home sometimes. (Can you even imagine!) I know, what if I get in an accident? What if I forget the address? What if... oh for Pete's sake, who cares? I'll borrow a phone, pull over to ask for directions and generally get some peace and quiet in the momvan for a change. Amen.

The Day After Christmas...

Okay it's here.
The day AFTER.

The crazy is over.
The presents finally wrapped, (and unwrapped about 14,000 times the speed of light), the husband put together the new kid bookshelf AND the new telescope (with only minor expletives mind you). Believe it or not all the clothes and boots fit! (Seriously surprised me there...we didn't take a single thing back!)

The girl Tween kept saying things like... "I sure am getting a LOT of clothes this year"...and "I don't have to put any of my stuff together, like the cool racetrack the kids got...".... "Oh look another present with a shirt in it..."
It's official she isn't a little kid, and she'll admit it, she doesn't want little kid toys anymore. Two things on her request list this year? A gift card to Borders, and a gift card for iTunes....
Um... those both fit in the stocking... now what? She got a telescope that's what!


My newly turned 9yrold Sassy girl (Christmas Eve Birthdays just plain suck btw) was the most exuberant over all her packages. She couldn't help herself.. several times she flew off the handle, screaming and jumping up and down... only to calm herself long enough to ask... 'What is it?' She is American Girl Doll crazy (in a good way), she makes outfits for her doll herself. In fact I'm so not kidding... One of her main anticipated gifts was: {drumroll please}.... A Sewing Kit.... ??As in a Dollar Store sewing kit. Talk about the cheapest Santa Claus gift ever, eh? Instead I found an Alex Brand 'My First' Sewing Kit. She's very happy with it, needless to say jumping up and down and everything. I believe she plans to attend a college that specializes in Art/Fashion/Hair and plain general CREATIVITY. She oozes it from her very core.

I'm not sure how to clearly document this. How very in love my 5yrold little boy is with the boy-world-action-adventure-friendly-Alien-Kid next door.... AKA: Ben10. Here's how his wish list documented:
"I want a Ben10 Alien 'SET' (whatever that is) and a Ben10 Wii Game and a Bakugan" that last part I assume was thrown in for good standing with the older boys at school as he has like zero idea what the heck it really is.. The Ben10 *set* ends up being a teeny tiny 'Alien-Making' kit. Complete with minuscule arms and legs and torsos and little alien freaky heads, which you place in 4 different wheels then spin around and combine to create various creeped out mixed up aliens in about a 1:10,000 ratio. Weird? NOT to a Kindergartner. He sat there all day creating and playing and basically ruining his eyesight working on itty bitty bite-sized Ben10 dudes... He was in heaven it was clear.

Were there grown-ups in this scenario?

You betcha.

The Dad had his heart set on one of those fancy calf massage thing-a-ma-bobs... (And I really did try to locate one... but they were kinda pricey and I had better ideas...) He ended up with a brand new fangled Kindle! Yay! And believe me for a total geek of a news junkie like my dear husband is... having the New York Times downloadable to your bedroom in the morning with your hot cocoa is like heroin to the corner crack addict.

He also has been wanting a really nice speaker system for his iPod to dock with at work. Here's what I found him.... A JBL 'On Time' iPod Dock... and cha-ching! I found a killer deal on it! Total toss up as to which he likes better!

~~~~~

As for the Mom in our world... that would be me... I had a wish list as well. I've learned, in 15 years of Christmases: MAKE A LIST, and check it twice. Cuz when I've handed him a bit of a list in the past thinking he would look it over and maybe get one or two items on it... oh no. He got me every SINGLE thing on that blasted list! Which is sweet and all, but there were years we couldn't afford it!

So this year on my (shortish) list:

A waffle maker (ours didn't make the big move to Oregon)
A tablecloth (my one nice one got a massive stain on it this Thanksgiving)
New Measuring Cups (I really really really want the dang NON-traditional sizes 3/4 and 2/3! Yippee)
Knives. Stinking Sharp Knives. The end.
Oh. And a new laptop, is that too much to ask....? (Srsly, mine is literally falling apart, the hinge all busted, and the wifi broke-HELLO! It's a laptop...not a plug into a cord-top!)

Uhm... lets just say once again my under the tree gifts left nothing off the list.
My laptop? Using it!
My new waffle maker? Makes superb waffles...crunchy, but light and fluffy at the same time. I'd share but we ate them all!
My knives... oh my freaking lovely... like buttah. I almost cried when I cut potatoes for Christmas Day Clam Chowder. Oh wow. Have I mentioned I love my Santa yet?
I did get measuring cups, but the 3/4 and 2/3s?? Back ordered... I guess there was a run on the odd sizes this year huh? Oh well.

Here's to hoping your week after Christmas is just as fun filled, slicing and dicing, dancing and grooving, miniature loving, doll fashionista creating and star gazing as ours is!

I'm loving my 'week off'.... ta ta!

Year End Letter

You're right your year was so much better than mine,
you can never emphasize that too much.
Aloha Fungi!

Holiday Crazy To Do List

What's on YOUR list?

I give you my Christmas get-your-Crazy-on list...

• Mix up 4 Dozen Cookies for the Church Christmas Party
  
• Bake 2 Dozen Rolls for the same
• Bake not ONE but TWO hams for it too??
• Figure out how the heck to make baked beans...(yes for the party)
  (How did I get roped into all that??
  Apparently I forgot how to use the word NO.)
• Attend Foster Care Dinner
• Same night freeze butts off at the local Snowflake Parade (don't ask)
• ALSO Same night enjoy hot cocoa at friends who live near parade route
• Design and Sew a Bag for my 8yrold (who has begged for one for over a year now!)
• Make 50 deviled eggs for the 12 days of Christmas Teacher appreciation week, (I'm the Geese a layin' mom... oy)
• Tithing Settlement: Where as a family we meet with the bishop and declare our tithing status for the year
• Get oldest kid's Clarinet fixed for her recital..oh... in a WEEK!
  

... and that's just THIS week.
Amen.

Yes There IS A Santa Claus

She's 8. Gonna be 9 in 3 weeks. She's in third grade. I'm pretty sure everyone in her class is talking about it. I know her older sister has said SOMEthing....

This is the year. It's clear. She's wondering. She already knows in her heart. But she doesn't want to ASK us directly yet. She wants to keep believing. She wants to keep being a kid for a little bit longer.

This is my especially creative kid. She wrote a very long letter for the Tooth Fairy for Pete's sake. And then wrote a second one and a third. She has looked at us with an inquisitive look, one that said, I know that you know that I know that we all know... now can we leave it at that?

This week.

It's been decided. The dad is taking her out to dessert after dinner Wednesday night. To have 'The Talk'. The we love you enough to share with you the whys and hows of magical Christmas Myths. To explain to her how it's not a sad thing to be let in on the fairy tale. How she still has a younger brother who will get to enjoy it all for 3 or 4 more years to come. And even better... that she will get to be a part of the magic now.

Think it will go well? It went more than well with my no-nonsense older daughter. She had already figured it out and was waiting for us to tell her. She wasn't sad or glad or anything. And she loves being part of the surprise and 'IN' on it all.

I'm worried about my more sensitive creative middle child.

Maybe we should let her be a child a little longer?
Wait for her to come to us?

One Thousand Gifts

I just came across this site... Holy Experience
and it's not like I need an excuse to make a Gratitude list..
But this is SUPER intriguing... 1000 gifts? #onethousandgifts on twitter...?

I'm going to start here and take it to twitter.

What are you grateful for?

1. Long Drives with my family.
2. quick trips to the grocery store.
3. christmas in the city.
4. small town charm.
5. older children's love of traditions (even small ones).
6. younger children's absolute and unshakable faith.

Church Chat: Easter At Our House

As a Kid...

• I didn't know there was such a thing as Palm Thursday.
• I was a teenager before I saw someone with ash on their forehead.
• I had heard of lent but had no idea what it meant?
• I did know what Good Friday was all about
  but we didn't make a very big deal of it.

Was I totally sheltered? Maybe, but believe me we celebrated Easter!
Eggs, eggs and more eggs...for sure.

Easter Sunday was where it was at in my home growing up and in my religion.

We tend to focus on the Resurrection part of the whole Easter Celebration and not so much all the death and crucifixion. Don't get me wrong, we totally understand the atonement and what Christ's sacrifice means to our salvation.

(Photo of Christus Statue in SLC Temple visitors center by SteveCottrell.)

We simply choose to be really grateful for His resurrection and the fact that we can live again after death as well. But quite honestly the 'big' holidays for Mormons aren't all that much bigger than regular Sunday worship. That may seem like a problem. But it's not. I'm just saying we celebrate Christ's resurrection and are in awe of His atoning sacrifice every Sunday. And while yes we acknowledge that Easter is a great time to ponder the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you don't usually see a lot of 'extra' folks showing up only on Christmas and Easter.

There was a full page ad in my local paper on Friday, inviting 'all types' to attend that church's Easter Service. And nothing against that, it's just that we try really hard to invite people to our congregation and to attend services ALL the time, you know??

In Fact. Wanna come to church this week with me? That would be awesome!

I hope this is coming across the way I mean it? And if 2x a year is the only churching a person is going to get, then by all means that's great, right!? I just hope everyone tries to have more spirituality in their lives than only on Christmas and Easter.

Happy Easter to everyone.

I believe that crazy story about a man who died on a cross
2,000 years ago and 3 days later rose from the dead.
And... after our death, even crazier?
We can live again too.

Now for some Easter Pictures at our house.
Yes. The Easter Bunny knows how to find Mormons...!

As promised... Easter Sunday New Outfits...

{yes I made the dresses.. no I did not make TK's!}

15 Years To The Day

Was a happy V-Day around here! Here are the flowers to prove it. We kinda sorta got engaged on Valentine's Day Weekend 15 years ago. Kinda Sorta? I know. We did it all wonky. One of his college roommates had gone to all this extreme, and hired a horse and carriage and had the ring all ready, and a date at the ballet.. we watched him get ready and then he left all nervous...

After he left we hung out on the couch, (no we did NOT make out....much). And the conversation led around to..'Should we do this thing?' My answer? "Yeah, I'm thinking in September.. you?" —the rest of that story to be continued, k?

What did we do for the big Valentine's Night? Oh yeah, crazy night.. we went to a church sponsored party? Huh? What? For Valentine's? I know, but it turned out to be a great time and sheesh, free babysitting, you can't beat that!

Salsa Roll-Ups.
We made them with lots and lots of love of course!

Ingredients:

• 8 large flour tortillas
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
• 3 tablespoons chopped green onion
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
• 12 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 cup salsa or picante sauce

Preparation:

Directions for tortilla roll-ups.
In a medium bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, chilies, onion, red bell pepper, and Cheddar cheese. Mix thoroughly. Spread onto tortillas and roll up. Cover tightly and chill for 2 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, cut each roll into 1/2-inch slices. Serve with salsa or picante sauce. Makes about 32 pieces of tortilla roll-ups.

Hope your Valentine's Day was a good as mine?!

Goodness in a Jar

You know those nasty cookie mixes in a jar? NOT THESE.
A few years ago I tested a bunch of recipes for cookie mixes. And this is the winner. And really. When the main ingredient is chunks of Reeses Cups, how could it not be the winner??

I'm not very good at packaging. As I've mentioned before. So it's a good thing these babies look awesome before you add anything.

(The little tubs in the pic are homemade lip gloss for kid friend gifts--didn't turn out so well... still experimenting on that recipe...I think we'll keep 'em around for an April fool's joke or something because they are AWFUL tasting---too much Kool-Aide mix!)

Merry Ho Ho Ho.

You want the recipe? It's not a secret. And it's not mine.
I love the part where it says DO NOT USE Diet Margarine.
What the heck is Diet Margarine? And do you have a better mix in a jar recipe...? I'm thinking about creating a hearty oatmeal pancake mix for next year...

Do you RA(w)K?

RAK= Random Acts of Kindness.

Do you RA(w)K?



Small or big?

Here's my plan. To actively find (at least) one RAK everyday for the month of December. Will I blog about each one...? Probably not. I hope to have some RAK for the bloggy world too... hmm have to get creative about that eh?

Here's one big thing my family is doing this year. We found through our little town an organized program where you 'adopt' a family. You get the clothing sizes and the genders of the family members and maybe some small items on a wish list. You then do the shopping for these items, wrap them up and bring them in for the organization to deliver. Talk about the perfect thing to do with my family this year.

It's been a roller-coaster ride for us this year, nothing awful, ups and downs and lately I'm having a hard time listening to the me me me whines coming from three three three little kids. They will get so much more out of picking out a Christmas for another family, than continually whining and picking out more more more for themselves.

How about something small I'm doing? This might sound evil or selfish but honestly I am working on patience while standing in long lines this year especially when there are *not so smart* people ahead of me or whatever... Sure I'll let someone in line ahead of me and all that... but my big..okay little RAK is to be kind while in line.

And for you?

Some girly shops. Why? Because you RA(w)K.

Dusty's Designs.
Lately people have been asking --how can I get a great little 125x125 button, or --I just need an etsy banner or --how about a new holiday themed blogger header? My friends, this is the place. She makes these for $5, and from what I can see she will work up a custom banner in awesome style! FIVE DOLLARS? WhooHoo! Nicole is behind these great graphics!
~~~~~
I met this next shop girly gal via twitter when I noticed her talking about fabric...well of course I had to follow her and find out what/why/how...
Sweet Girl Boutique is her shop, and if you dig a bit you'll find her fabric shop too! Are we in heaven? Girly stuff AND fabric? Yes.
~~~~
And for the girly girl's stomach? Wow, I'm in heaven looking through these. I think the grapeseed infused oils will make awesome gifts... I'll be keeping one for myself, TYVM.
See Kristie's Wildtree site.

~~~~
And last... I love Funky Finds. I've had conversations with the girly girl behind this one and she cracks me up and finds awesome items. I see coupons and discounts over there right now... go take a look...

~~~~

And remember..

Photo generously allowed by Jill Allyn @ flickerJillAllyn

ThanksGivings Past

Once upon a time, we had this really great idea. We thought we would try to take advantage of the Thanksgiving Vacation days and travel somewhere warmer...

And it was a good idea and all.

But.

The condo we wanted was booked for the actual week of Thanksgiving, so we opted for the week starting the day AFTER Thanksgiving. Which didn't really maximize the days off school. But whatever.

Another but.

If you need to be somewhere the day AFTER Thanksgiving and it's an 11 hour drive and you aren't sure your 3yrold can hold up that long and you think you may be stopping over in VEGAS for the half way hotel stay....then...how do you do the ACTUAL Thanksgiving day?

These were our options:

• Get up early to cook and eat turkey at 10AM and on the road by 2PM? NO. That sucks for obvious reasons (the get up early part mainly--but leftovers? cleaning up after the mess in order to LEAVE, indigestion in the car for 6 hours..)
• Get up early and drive to In-Laws for Turkey dinner there, bringing only the rolls? No. Similar reasons (the get up early part, the convince them to eat earlier part, the part where it's 2 hours the other direction from where we were headed??)
• Get up kinda early and eat early lunch/dinner at local restaurant? No. First of all SERIOUSLY expensive unless you want Turkey ala Dennys, second...you need reservations 3 weeks in advance? IN ADVANCE? Who are all these people eating Turkey dinner OUT?? Good grief.
• Cook Turkey dinner at the condo in warmer clime only do it a day or so AFTER Turkey day? Now that was sounding good.

And it worked pretty well too. The um.. kitchen utensils and supplies were quite lacking...hard to mash potatoes without a masher ya know?


This is us at the Condo, last year. With swim hair. And a little boy who fell asleep and missed the dinner altogether.

The funniest part, was on Thanksgiving day while driving through Las Vegas (stayed in a hotel overnight...)we needed to eat dinner after being on the road a long time. Just ANY dinner would do, right?

Um? McDonald's? Closed. IHOP? Closed. In-N-Out? Olive Garden? Burger King? Closed, Closed and Closed. 7-eleven was open and we were considering our options there. For our real/fake Thanksgiving dinner! Hot dogs and Big Gulps!? And then...we saw it. A parking lot full of cars...surrounding...

a Black Angus restaurant! WhoHoo!
Never been to one before, but who cares...at least it wasn't a hot dog eh? (They barely squeezed us in-- a late cancellation, whew!) They were so confused when we opted to order off the menu and not eat their Turkey meal! Oh well.



Now this next picture is more like it. Turkey Day 2006. Always pull out my fancy Williams Sonoma tablecloth. First year I got to use my mother's china. And the first course.

Roasted Corn and Red Pepper Soup.

My absolute mostest favoritest. It's what I can't live without on Thanksgiving Day. Well that.. and my family of coursers!


That soup btw? I first found it in a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook....Seriously worth the effort of clicking this recipe and stashing it in your online recipe folder...I know you have one...

I promise...those other recipes are coming. I almost have enough really terrific recipes submitted to even hand out the Hot Chocolate Recipe...I could use a few more though?

Holiday Food Thoughts...

My MIL learned to make hand dipped chocolates the old fashioned way--
from her MIL.

I was always supposed to learn how to make those fancy cherry chocolates, and chocolate covered fondants from her.

It never happened. I lived too far away for too many years.

Instead.

I learned to make Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Rolls, and from scratch Gingerbread Men that create heaven on earth while they bake and taste even better(!) and a family recipe for Danish Pastry (it uses more butter than one cow can make in a month!) and my personal favorite: English Toffee. Yummmm.




What is the food you cannot live without during the holidays? The perfect Turkey? Grandma's secret recipe for walnut stuffing? How about the desserts? Ooooh...pumpkin pie of course! But what about the weird things, the experiments gone awry, the goodies only your family loves?

I'd love to share my recipes with you. Will you share yours with me?
I have an over the top Hot Chocolate recipe, one your kids WILL NOT like, it's that good.
It will be your reward for sharing with me.

Join us for GNO Tuesday night over at Twitter.com. Our Guest Tweet is Nicole from PinchMySalt.com. Bring all your foodiest thoughts and questions, I can't wait to ask her about those dipped cherry chocolates!

EARLY! --Happy Candy Freaks

Due to uncontrollable extenuating (and other large words I can't think of) circumstances. We had to do our annual WHOLE FAMILY DRESS UP, last weekend.

Here are the results:

He totally came up with the whole Joker costume from Goodwill Stores. A teenager came up to us at one point during the community carnival and said: "Dude where did you buy your costume, THAT's what I want to be!" Sorry. Not a 'ready-made' costume here. You are looking at a professional costume designer, sorry. (Oh Yeah!)

Green Power Ranger is so happy to wear that dang cape! We found it at a garage sale for $1! Big sister also found her perfect Piratess costume at Goodwill. Little sister used the large bin of Halloween Costumes past, as did BatMama.

Total cost for costumes this year? About $20. We rock.

Oh if I could figure out my DANG scanner I would sooo share the photo we had taken of the two of us on Harleys! Now that was awesome.

I can't wait to see everyone else's Halloween Costumes...Happy Haunting! (And safe.)

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

How'd your fireworks go?

We totally groove on the 4th.

Uncle Sam.
Potato Salad.
The grand ole flag.
Neil Diamond singing "AMERICA" (TO-day....).
A great flippin' parade (we were sitting right next to Senator Bennet..pretty cool eh?).
A bloody lip. (TK's--not mine).
Our family hanging out together.
Glow sticks.

....and....

FIREWORKS. 20 minutes of fireworks. Who doesn't love that much pyrotechnics in one little park? And don't say Babies and Grandmas. I won't believe you.


Sassy (7yrold) said:
"This is my favorite holiday..., next to Christmas."

That's a pretty big deal I'd say?

TK said: "This was a really long holiday." On our way home from the fireworks nearly falling asleep and nearly 10:30PM.

L is for... You Screwed up Father's Day!

Talk about bad timing.

How can it be Father's Day?

Do you all mean to tell me they scheduled Freakin' Father's Day (THE DAY!) for the same weekend as my recovery weekend? The same weekend I will not be able to walk, much less make breakfast in bed for the one who is Father to my 3 kids?? In fact, HE is the one making ME breakfast in bed, carrying ME to the toilet, helping ME in the bathtub and all around winning the best HUSBAND of the year award!

I am so going to make it a do-over next weekend.

There will be a Manly Breakfast.

And a Manly gift...(quick: tell me what you got your husband...I've been entering Kailani's Father's Day giveaways all week, and it just doesn't seem to be working out. Help! Ideas?)

Beet Dyed Ruby Eggs

Dye the eggs, not the shells!
Not my idea, but I'm seriously thinking about tryin' this out with our Easter Eggs.

From A Veggie Adventure.

Plus there is advice for the perfect hard boiled egg...and doesn't everyone need that?


PS, I added this post to the Winter Bazaar on Scribbit, where there are more Easter suggestions.

The best date.

We went to the LDS Cannery today for a middle of the day 3 hour date. Yeah we were working, and smelled like chili, but we were together (sort of) & without the kids...so hey, that counts right? We finished a bit early and even got to have a romantic fun lunch at IHOP. I mean can you come up with a more sexy Valentine's Day than that?

I do plan to make dinner tonight. This is on the menu. Kids are sure to hate it, but it looks lovely to me, and please I'll have a hard time topping IHOP, eh? I'm such a sucker for anything with avocados lately.