I think tags are kind of fun, this one is about interesting things you've done. To participate, just mark in bold the items you have done.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch, lots, knitting right now
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language Spanish, not fluent by any means, but I know a bit.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (I passed this up as a kid and have always regretted it.
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (if it is moving at all it is speeding in my opinion)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (does a documentary in North Salt Lake town hall count?)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (never read Songs of Solomon)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (dinner and Jazz game with apostles Elder Perry, Elder Hales and their wives.)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Milked a cow
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
Christmas Day
The biggest box under the tree is for me!
Wow! Star Wars Legos! I love it!
" Ma Baby"
Christmas Morning
Singing Christmas songs
It was a nice christmas. On Christmas eve we went and saw light festivals and toured well-lit neighborhoods. We enjoyed a nice Lasagne dinner at Grandma's and I made peanut butter fingers to snack on all day.
We filled the "white stocking" for Jesus with good goals for the coming year. I think the kids understood it for the first time. A wants to write in her journal once a month and J wants to memorize a scripture.
We gave out books, chocolates, crafts, mixed nuts, clothes, a fishing license, and games to our loved ones. Santa brought oranges and m&m's like he always does, and the gifts under the tree left twinkles in the kids eyes.
Dad- movies and book "Get Smart" and "The Tales of Beedle and Bard".
Mom- movies: Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and What's up Doc
A-6 years old. An art kit with mixable markers, glitter paints, crayons, construction paper, colored paper, scrapbook scissors, regular scissors, and two Tiara Club books.
J-4 years old. A fire truck and a star wars lego ship.
A-1 years old. A baby doll and a noisy sounds and lights toy.
Holiday Baking
Despite how busy this time of year is, I've had a chance to try lots of new holiday recipes. Here are the favorites:
Wassail Mix:
My kids don't really love hot chocolate, so this is a good substitute after playing in the snow.
2 cups orange flavored drink mix
6 TBS lemonade flavored drink mix
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
Combine all ingreadients and mix well. I use 2 Tbs mix with one cup of hot water, but experiment to your tastes. Keeps up to 6 months. Enjoy!!
Traditional Chex Mix
try baking it in the oven the old fashioned way, it smells soooo good.
School Lunch Peanut Butter Fingers
So we were craving these and much to our dismay, could not find just the right recipe on the internet. "You're kidding!" I said, I've seen these things at every church social my whole life, are they just an old Mormon recipe no one else knows about? So I tried looking through the old ward cookbooks. Sure enough! I'm glad I bought one.
BARS:
3/4 c margarine
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
3/8 tsp soda
1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 c oats
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 c peanut butter
FROSTING:
6 Tbs water
1 lb (3 3/4c) powdered sugar
1 cube margarine
4 Tbs cocoa
Mix ingredients in bowl. (I found it easier to melt butter and peanutbutter first and then add the eggs last when it was cooled a bit.) Pour into a sheet cake pan and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Cool, then frost with chocolate frosting.
A sad farewell...
After nearly eight years of pancakes, muffins, cornbread, omelets, grilled cheese sandwiches, cakes, casseroles, perfect calzones, breadsticks, meatballs, chicken nuggets, and lots of other goodies, all cooked perfectly in less time than my oven takes to preheat (about 3-10 minutes). The GT Xpress has worn itself out. I'll miss you little friend. (sniffles)
Wassail Mix:
My kids don't really love hot chocolate, so this is a good substitute after playing in the snow.
2 cups orange flavored drink mix
6 TBS lemonade flavored drink mix
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
Combine all ingreadients and mix well. I use 2 Tbs mix with one cup of hot water, but experiment to your tastes. Keeps up to 6 months. Enjoy!!
Traditional Chex Mix
try baking it in the oven the old fashioned way, it smells soooo good.
School Lunch Peanut Butter Fingers
So we were craving these and much to our dismay, could not find just the right recipe on the internet. "You're kidding!" I said, I've seen these things at every church social my whole life, are they just an old Mormon recipe no one else knows about? So I tried looking through the old ward cookbooks. Sure enough! I'm glad I bought one.
BARS:
3/4 c margarine
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
3/8 tsp soda
1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 c oats
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 c peanut butter
FROSTING:
6 Tbs water
1 lb (3 3/4c) powdered sugar
1 cube margarine
4 Tbs cocoa
Mix ingredients in bowl. (I found it easier to melt butter and peanutbutter first and then add the eggs last when it was cooled a bit.) Pour into a sheet cake pan and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Cool, then frost with chocolate frosting.
A sad farewell...
After nearly eight years of pancakes, muffins, cornbread, omelets, grilled cheese sandwiches, cakes, casseroles, perfect calzones, breadsticks, meatballs, chicken nuggets, and lots of other goodies, all cooked perfectly in less time than my oven takes to preheat (about 3-10 minutes). The GT Xpress has worn itself out. I'll miss you little friend. (sniffles)
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
About Christmas...
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? artificial, let the real ones keep on growin’.
3. When do you put up the tree? Thanksgiving weekend.
4. When do you take the tree down? New Years.
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but I always thin it down, full strength gags me.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I mostly remember looking forward to a toy called fashion plates where you could design your own dresses and color them and any barbie doll stuff.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My husband, he goes out and buys everything he wants before Christmas.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Mother in law, she likes books which are easy to get and thinks whatever you get her is special.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? not this year.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? E-MAIL!!!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? a five pound (or something ginormous) candy cane, I felt compelled to eat it even though I don’t even like candy canes.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Its A Wonderful Life.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? November usually.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, but always the gift bags.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Panetone (Italian Christmas Cake) I can’t believe Dwight and Sarah don’t like it!!!
16. Lights on the tree? Yes, and I totally miss bubble lights, I priced them out this year and they are a small fortune, but maybe someday...
17. Favorite Christmas song? Joy to the World, Sleighbells, O Holy Night, Feliz Navidad.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I like staying at home, but we always have fun when we travel too.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Of course!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Shopping frantically for twenty people who all say they don’t really need or want anything...
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? In addition to the nativity, I like snowmen, penguins, snowflakes, and candy canes. I steer clear of all Santa stuff.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We don’t traditionally have dinner on Christmas, but for Christmas we’ve enjoyed authentic German, Hispanic, Spanish, Mongolian, and other various homemade masterpieces by the talented members of my family.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I asked for new carseats, but I’m getting some of my favorite classic movies which will be a lot more fun.
26. Who is most likely to respond to this? I don’t know, this is just for fun.
27. Who is least likely to respond to this? Everyone who reads this after Christmas!
2. Real tree or Artificial? artificial, let the real ones keep on growin’.
3. When do you put up the tree? Thanksgiving weekend.
4. When do you take the tree down? New Years.
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but I always thin it down, full strength gags me.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I mostly remember looking forward to a toy called fashion plates where you could design your own dresses and color them and any barbie doll stuff.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My husband, he goes out and buys everything he wants before Christmas.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Mother in law, she likes books which are easy to get and thinks whatever you get her is special.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? not this year.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? E-MAIL!!!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? a five pound (or something ginormous) candy cane, I felt compelled to eat it even though I don’t even like candy canes.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Its A Wonderful Life.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? November usually.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, but always the gift bags.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Panetone (Italian Christmas Cake) I can’t believe Dwight and Sarah don’t like it!!!
16. Lights on the tree? Yes, and I totally miss bubble lights, I priced them out this year and they are a small fortune, but maybe someday...
17. Favorite Christmas song? Joy to the World, Sleighbells, O Holy Night, Feliz Navidad.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I like staying at home, but we always have fun when we travel too.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Of course!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Shopping frantically for twenty people who all say they don’t really need or want anything...
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? In addition to the nativity, I like snowmen, penguins, snowflakes, and candy canes. I steer clear of all Santa stuff.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We don’t traditionally have dinner on Christmas, but for Christmas we’ve enjoyed authentic German, Hispanic, Spanish, Mongolian, and other various homemade masterpieces by the talented members of my family.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I asked for new carseats, but I’m getting some of my favorite classic movies which will be a lot more fun.
26. Who is most likely to respond to this? I don’t know, this is just for fun.
27. Who is least likely to respond to this? Everyone who reads this after Christmas!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Everything Under the Sun by Wendy DeWitt
Here are highlights from the excellent food storage class I went to this week.
For the full transcript of the presentation go to everythingunderthesunblog@blogspot.com or
check BYU-TV in February under speaker Wendy DeWitt.
Wendy has a very simple 1 year food supply. She has bought and stored all the ingredients to make her favorite 14 meals 26 times and 7 breakfasts 52 times. In addition she has stored enough food to make a loaf of bread per day for the third meal and also cakes, cookies, rolls, pies, and brownies for snacks. Her food storage has a minumum shelf life of 3 years (meats mostly, most stuff is much longer). The other clever part of her system is that she is able to cook all of it w/o electricity "under the sun" in her solar oven.
Tips for storing everyday foods your family eats.
Wheat grinder: You must have one! hand ones are nice for power outages, electric are nice for everyday use.
Food Saver w/ jar sealer attatchment: Nuts, raisins, brown rice, candy, chocolate chips, baking mixes, etc will last 3-5 years rather than just months. You can stock up when there are sales. This is really the heart of what makes Wendy's food storage so yummy. Regular things with short shelf-life now last long enough to be in long-term food storage. The Food Saver is expensive, but deals are usually available on used ones, the attatchment runs about $10.
Pressure cooker: bottling fruits and veggies is a lot of work, but meat can be raw packed. Put it in the jar. When you process it, it gets cooked perfectly. Stock up when meat is on sale, then you have all these easy meals just waiting in your food storage. Wendy uses two jars of meat a week and rotates her years supply every 3 years. She can do 50 lbs of meat in one day. That is probably enough for the year...
solar oven: These are cool and I didn't know they existed. Apparently hundreds of thousands are used world wide. This along with our propane grill would have us pretty prepared to cook food in a power outage. The solar oven cooks in any temperature of whether as long as there is sun you can cook. She says her oven preheats in about 30 minutes to 350. So she can sterilize water, boil, and bake with it. It might take longer to preheat in cold whether, but not too much. Her friends had a nice warm meal on a ski trip in 18 degree weather. The trick is to adjust it every 45 minutes so that it is always facing the sun. She cooks breakfast and then a big meal. After the big meal she does a loaf of bread and then you don't have to worry about cooking at night when there is no sun...
For the full transcript of the presentation go to everythingunderthesunblog@blogspot.com or
check BYU-TV in February under speaker Wendy DeWitt.
Wendy has a very simple 1 year food supply. She has bought and stored all the ingredients to make her favorite 14 meals 26 times and 7 breakfasts 52 times. In addition she has stored enough food to make a loaf of bread per day for the third meal and also cakes, cookies, rolls, pies, and brownies for snacks. Her food storage has a minumum shelf life of 3 years (meats mostly, most stuff is much longer). The other clever part of her system is that she is able to cook all of it w/o electricity "under the sun" in her solar oven.
Tips for storing everyday foods your family eats.
Wheat grinder: You must have one! hand ones are nice for power outages, electric are nice for everyday use.
Food Saver w/ jar sealer attatchment: Nuts, raisins, brown rice, candy, chocolate chips, baking mixes, etc will last 3-5 years rather than just months. You can stock up when there are sales. This is really the heart of what makes Wendy's food storage so yummy. Regular things with short shelf-life now last long enough to be in long-term food storage. The Food Saver is expensive, but deals are usually available on used ones, the attatchment runs about $10.
Pressure cooker: bottling fruits and veggies is a lot of work, but meat can be raw packed. Put it in the jar. When you process it, it gets cooked perfectly. Stock up when meat is on sale, then you have all these easy meals just waiting in your food storage. Wendy uses two jars of meat a week and rotates her years supply every 3 years. She can do 50 lbs of meat in one day. That is probably enough for the year...
solar oven: These are cool and I didn't know they existed. Apparently hundreds of thousands are used world wide. This along with our propane grill would have us pretty prepared to cook food in a power outage. The solar oven cooks in any temperature of whether as long as there is sun you can cook. She says her oven preheats in about 30 minutes to 350. So she can sterilize water, boil, and bake with it. It might take longer to preheat in cold whether, but not too much. Her friends had a nice warm meal on a ski trip in 18 degree weather. The trick is to adjust it every 45 minutes so that it is always facing the sun. She cooks breakfast and then a big meal. After the big meal she does a loaf of bread and then you don't have to worry about cooking at night when there is no sun...
Friday, November 14, 2008
October pictures
J, J, and little A bobbing for apples!
I did it!
Food for a kid halloween dinner, "Mummy Dogs"
Food for the parents, "Monster Fingers", calzones with olive fingernails. Dip it in pizza sauce.
Poor baby is always so tired. Our schedule has gotten less hectic and she is back to two naps a day after skipping her morning nap for two months. Maybe now there is a chance of her sleeping through the night for real!
Uncle C gives little A her first piano lesson the day before he gets married. She thoroughly enjoys it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)