Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

Sorry this is so dark. The temple, of course, faces east so trying to take a picture at this time of day put me looking straight into the bright afternoon sun moving around to the west. I'm lucky I got the whole building in, I could hardly see what I was doing.

This is a much better picture, taken from the back side, the south west corner, looking toward the front.

Eat your hearts out, out-of-state Mormons. This picture is from me standing in front of the temple, looking east to the Jordan River Temple. Yes, they are THAT close . . .

. . . and looking to the south east, across the valley, you can see the Draper Temple up against the mountains. But before anyone complains about Utah having too many temples, please understand how busy these temples are! There aren't even "slow" periods of the day anymore. Busy the whole day long. Which is great news really - it means the work is getting done!

The new Oquirrh Mountain Temple is really pretty. It's bigger than the Draper temple. The ordinance rooms hold about 50 people. There is no cafeteria, but ther is a lunchroom with tables and microwaves. The baptismal font was exceptionally striking. The interior is all done in earth tones and mountain themes.

The open house continues through the end of July, I think, so make sure you visit if you are in the area!

Random, Grow, Struck

Random - Having no specific pattern, purpose, or objective.

June 27, 2009

The odd assortment of things that have found a home on my nighttable. That's kind of embarrasing now that I see it in print. I have no idea why there is a seam ripper on the night table. I don't remember having a need to unpick a seam while in bed.

Grow -To be capable of growth; thrive.

June 28, 2009

Green onions in the front, green peppers in the middle, tomatoes in the back. Everything is doing beautifully. My apple trees are loaded - hello applesauce! We are anticipating a bountiful harvest!

Struck - Damaged or destroyed, as by forceful contact.

June 29, 2009

The Angel Moroni at the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple was struck by lightening during construction. The damage is visible on the arm holding up the trumpet.

Wait, Thunderhead

Wait - To remain or rest in expectation.

June 25, 2009

The game before ours went into extra innings, so our game was delayed about 45 minutes. Then our game went long. The championship game was played after ours, which started a full hour plus late.


If you don't want to hear a proud mom/coach's wife go on and on about a great baseball game, stop reading. You have been duly warned. As I said, we got a late start since the earlier game went into extra innings, so our team had a lot of time to stand around. We trailed most of the game, and as home team we had last ups. We must have been down by 3 runs. The bases were loaded, between a few decent hits and a few walks, when one of our boys stepped up and hit a grand slam! Game time expired, and as home team, all we needed was 1 more run, so that was it. We were playing for 3rd place, and I think those boys were as thrilled as if they had won first place! It was all very exciting and fun to watch.

Jack and I stayed to watch the championship game because one of Jack's friends was on one of the teams. That game went into 2 extra innings, with Jack's friends team coming back from 6-2 to winning 16-12, scoring 10 runs in the final inning! Because of all the late starts from the earlier games, the championship game didn't get started until 9:30, and finished up at 11:40. It was a long night on a very hard metal bench, but it was a fun night.

Thunderhead - a rounded projecting mass of a cumulus cloud with shining edges; often appears before a thunderstorm.

June 26, 2009

More rain. I really do LOVE a good thunderstor, but come on! I need a good dose of summer to truly appreciate the rain, and we just haven't had that this month. I did finally turn on my AC yesterday (until it started to rain) and the day before, but that is all it has been on this year. I think tomorrow is supposed to be better.

Pastime

Pastime - An activity that occupies one's spare time pleasantly.

June 24, 2009

Oh, how I love to stitch. I don't get to do it as often as I would like, but I have a project going right now and I am enjoying it so much! It gets me motivated to do all the crappy stuff in my day that I don't like to do so I can move on to the fun stuff, such as this. Fun, fun, fun. And this is a double sided tackle box that I use to hold my floss (or "colors" as my kids call it, like it's crayons or something) and the other side is just as full. So whenever I tell Lane that I need to go to the store because I'm missing a color that I need, he rolls his eyes and asks how that is even possible. I have a good friend, Molly, who shares my passion, and I've had to call her a few times to bail me out when I'm missing a color. Thanks Molly! (And Molly - how crazy is that about the cabbage? Who knew?)

It was a sad ending to our baseball game tonight. It was a perfect summer night for a ball game. We trailed the other team 2-0 going into our last inning, and managed a rally of sorts and tied it when Jack got up to bat and he struck out. Controversy again, as Lane and our team parents thought that was the 2nd out, not third, so either we can't count to 3 or they can't. We didn't fight it tonight though. Anyway, we went into the extra inning all tied up and the other team scored 2 runs. We then got 2 outs right off the bat, and then managed to get bases loaded. We scored one run, and our final batter struck out, so we lost by one. The team was absolutely crushed since they had worked so hard to come back. So we play tomorrow night for 3rd place, and that will be the end of it. I love going to the games so much, and I will really miss it when it's over. I was telling Jack when we were driving home (and I was talking him off the ledge he was on for striking out) that I would happily go watch his team play every night of the week all summer long. Our team has the best parents and the boys all have so much heart. I think Lane is probably glad to be done, but I will miss it. They aren't the best team in the league, but they are to me! How's that for cliche? I really mean it, this has been the best season. Lane said his goal was for every boy to improve, and they all have, and I think they even had fun along the way.

Huddle

Huddle - To gather together for conference or consultation

June 23, 2009

Yeah, I know, I already used a similar picture, but this one turned out better than the other one, and I used a different word. So there! I like in this one how our catcher still has all his gear on.

We started the city tournament tonight. Our record wasn't good enough to move on to the state tournament. So this is a double elimination tournament, and we won tonight 7-6. We had a little controversy with officials calling an end to an inning when we only had 2 outs (we got that resolved, but had to have coaches to confer with the scoring tower) and again with officials calling a batter out with only two strikes. So we move on to the next round tomorrow night. We get the late game at 8:30 which makes it hard for Lane because if the game doesn't start on time, he gets in danger of being late to work. Cross your fingers. Win or lose, the tournament will be over by Thursday and baseball will be over for another year. I'll miss it, and Lane will too, no matter what he says. He won't miss those late games, though!

Trail & Experiement

Don't I live in the most gorgeous place? The whole fam went out for a walk tonight, so I snapped a few pictures while we were out. Looking to the east, this is Mt. Timpanogos and "G" mountain - I don't know it's real name. How embarrasing.

Looking to the west, is Utah Lake and more mountains.

This is just a cute little bridge that crosses over Murdock Canal, which just happens to be 1 mile from my house. It makes a good landmark when I'm trying to gauge my distance. Tonight I walked (with Jack & Taylor - Lane and Addie strolled along slowly and turned back after about 1/2 mile) 2 miles. I should have gone more, and I really need to pick up the pace. It took me 20 minutes to walk a mile.

Experiment - the trying out of a new idea or method.

June 21, 2009

Yeah we had to try out the Topsy Turvy. The only place we could find to hang it was among the grapes, so don't get excited - those are grape leaves. We just barely got these planted on Saturday because they have been backordered all this time. I guess a lot of people are trying this little experiment. I was tempted to use the word "fad," but that has a negative connotation and I'm really hoping this works! Positive thoughts.

Trail - a route along a series of roads or paths that has been specially planned to let people see or do particular things.

June 22, 2009

This is my quiet and peaceful canal road behind my house where I get to go walk. Everyone should have such a nice walking path so close by.

Please note that I haven't put up any food pictures for a while. The temptation yesterday was almost unbearable - I baked 2 pies, a chocolate cake, and 2 loaves of wheat bread.

Elation

Addie enjoying a ride on the kiddie coaster.

Jack is fearless - he went on this ride over, and over, and over . . . it's a free-fall sort of a thing.

Jack consented to go on the merry-go-round with Addie once. ONCE.

Addie with my neices Clarissa, Marissa, and Markee doing the chicken dance during a slow part of the parade this morning.

Elation - a feeling of great happiness and excitement.

June 20, 2009

I have made it a point in my life to avoid the Strawberry Days Carnival. It kinda creeps me out. What is it about a carnival that attracts, um, THOSE people? You know the kind I'm talking about. Lagoon is crawling with them. Do they not have jobs? Do they just go, like groupies, from one carnival to another? Seriously, what's up with those people? Despite my best intentions, my mom scored some free tickets so I took Jack, Addie, Taylor and my neice Stephanie down the carnival. Taylor and Steffie wandered off to do their own thing, so that's why I only have photos of Jack and Addie. During one of our transitions from the kiddie ride area to the big kid ride area, I found Taylor lying spread eagle on the lawn amongst all the rides. She said she didn't feel good, too many spinny rides, but flopping down on the lawn wasn't really the answer since people kept coming over and asking if she was in need of medical attention. Attention, certainly, but not medical.

Earlier in the morning, it rained on our parade. We had quite a large group at our traditional spot on Main Street in front of the shop. It sprinkled off and on, and we had a pretty good rain for a few minutes. In between rain showers, it would be hot some of the time, so everyone would remove all their layers of jackets, only to have the wind come up a few minutes later and then everyone had to scramble to get the jackets back on. Same with the umbrellas - open, close, open, close.

Amongst all that, I didn't get any baking done. I'll have to do that tomorrow now. We'll be visiting with both of our fathers tomorrow, so it will be a busy day. I'm just hoping I'll have time to get my Sunday nap in because, you should know, it's all about me.

Complete & Seedling

Complete - To bring to a finish or an end.

June 18, 2009

Taylor finished her quilt. Another Value Project compelted! This value project was to create something to be used in your future home, and so Taylor made this baby quilt. It turned out so cute, and although she missed clipping in a couple of places, it turned out really good. She did all the sewing herself, I didn't do any. All I did was demonstrate how to cut it, then showed her how to sew it and assemble it, but she really did do it all herself. I think she has now completed 2 of the value projects, so she's coming along. She has finished one whole area, but of course I can't remember which one. We are both hoping that she can be done before she's 16, but it is a lot more work now than it was when I was in YW, so we'll see how much she can get done.

Seedling - A young plant, especially one that grows from a seed rather than from a cutting.

June 19, 2009

I haven't had much success with growing plants from seed, so being overly cautious, I put an ENTIRE package of basil seeds in this pot, and I think every single one of them took. I spent some time this afternoon thinning it out. This IS thinned out, believe it or not. I have another basil plant that I bought at the nursery, plus whatever this might turn into, and then I took all the little seedlings that I pulled out of this pot, and replanted them in the front yard. I will cut it, and dry it, and use it all winter, but gosh - I could potentially have A LOT of basil. I'll have to go door to door, trying to unload it. So if you need a basil start, or just fresh basil, come get mine!


The garden as a whole is doing very well. We have everything in pots this year, and everything is growing and looks healthy, and the tomatoes are growing up their stakes like they are supposed to. We even have a couple of small green tomatoes! Our peppers are doing better than they ever have, and I am just so happy with everything.


Plus, aren't you proud of me? It's been a few days since my last "food" photo, although I will likely do some baking tomorrow for Father's Day, so there is probably another food photo coming up. I always bake for my dad because I don't know what sort of gift to get the man who has everything. So I bake him up some goodies to see if I can send him into some sort of diabetic shock. So far, no luck. But I've never made him pie before either . . .

Scrapbook pages

Sorry - ignore the registration marks at the edges of the pictures. I forgot that my default turns them on. I have to have registration marks on everything at work, and you know what they say about old habits!

So anyway, this is the way my daily pictures end up to go into an album that I have been keeping. I digital scrap almost everything anymore. It is WAY faster, and I don't have to do a new page for each kid - just do it once and print it off 3 times! Being the cheapskate that I am, I have found everything I use (backgrounds, embellishments, etc) for free on various websites and I have access to free printing (whoo hoo!) so it works out perfectly for me. The program I use is Adobe InDesign.

Petal

Petal - one of the usually brightly coloured leaf-like parts of a flower.

June 17, 2009

The wind of the last several days has not been kind to my roses! They are blooming beautifully in spite of (or because of?) my butchering this spring. I need to go out now and trim off the dead blooms so it can keep on looking lovely. If it would just stop raining for a little while, I could go and do that. Dumb rain. It just won't stop, and it continues on through all 7 days of the forecast, with the exception of Friday. But only a few days ago, it had rain up through Sunday or Monday (of this week) and then it was clear and sunny after that. So I don't quite trust the forecast. Rain, rain GO AWAY!!



Further evidence of the incessant rain - mushrooms all over the lawn. I even found a dead bird on the lawn today. I don't know how that happened, but I don't do dead things so it will just have to lay there until Lane takes care of it. He is barely hobbling around today (Lane, not the bird). He went to baseball practice and didn't get out of the way fast enough when the batter hit a line drive and it hit him HARD on his right leg, just below his knee. So I told him about the bird, but he won't be taking care of that while he can barely walk. Jake either doesn't know that the bird is there, or he doesn't care, because he didn't even bother it at all.


My shameful admission for the day is that I like casseroles. I know, no one likes casseroles, but I do. Especially if it's a good one, and today I made a good one. I had intended to make Navajo tacos for dinner, but I ended up at Addie's library class for longer than I intended and didn't get dough started on time, so then I decided to do regular soft tacos. Then I went outside and learned how cloudy and cold and rainy it had turned (again!) so I decided it was a good casserole day. So I threw all my taco fixings in and, voila! It was really good! The casserole worked out better anyway, since Taylor isn't home from hanging with her friends and a casserole will be much easier to warm up and eat later than tacos would have been. It's funny what a difference it makes when Jack isn't here. We had half the casserole (or more) left over, and had he been here, there would have been nothing but an empty dish and a smiling little boy asking what else there was to eat! That boy is a bottomless pit! I hope Grandpa planned well enough to keep him fed. But then, I guess since they are fishing, if he wants to eat, he can just go and catch more!

Art

Art - the creation of works of beauty or other special significance.

June 16, 2009

This is my FAVORITE art project by Jack. He did this in kindergarten, during one of those first days of school, as a "getting to know you" sort of project. He was missing his two front teeth, and I love how he used black crayon to depict that feature about himself. I love kid art! I decided to use this as my picture for today for a couple of reasons. First, I needed a picture of it anyway because it is too big to fit in a scrapbook, which is why it hangs in my sewing/craft room, above my sewing machine, and next to his little plaster of paris hand print from 2002. I just love it and look at it all the time when I'm in that room. Second, I put up that picture of Addie's flower pot on Facebook, and my friend Trent replied how much he loved kid art, and that reminded me of this one by Jack. Third, another friend, Kari, had on her blog how much she enjoys her son, coincidentally named Jack. He's about 5 now, such a fun age for a boy. Also, coincidentally, the things that she wrote that she loves so much about her Jack are also many of the things that I love so much about my Jack. For one, he (my Jack) is always extremely cheerful and happy. It's pretty hard to catch him in a bad mood, except when Addie has been pushing his buttons, but even then, he's back to his happy disposition pretty darn fast. Jack is also very social and he'll do ANYTHING I ask him to do, as long as I do it with him. He is my best and most loyal exercise partner. He will even gladly clean his room, if I'll sit with him while he does it. Seriously, he loves to have people around, and as Kari put it regarding his Jack, he loves to spend time with me as much as I love to spend time with him. I am missing my little Jack now. He's off fishing with Grandpa for the week, which has left our house especially quiet. Anyone who knows Jack knows he only has 2 volume settings: LOUD and off. And I missed him at dinner tonight, which was Brinner, and he wasn't there to fight with me over who got the last sausage. You know that book "I Love You Forever"? That's mine and Jack's special book. I say the first line "I'll love you forever" and then he says "I'll like you for always" and then I say "Forever and ever" and he finishes with (inserting my special name for him when he was a baby) "Your Bunchkin I'll be."

Garlic, Downpour, Treasure

Backwards, again.

Garlic - aromatic bulb used as seasoning.

June 15, 2009

See how quickly it all comes back to food again? Yummy, yummy bread - seasoned with garlic and parsley. This is the first time I've used this recipe and I will certainly use it again! This smelled so good when it was baking, better than regular bread, thanks to the garlic. I used garlic powder because I'm not sure how to go about using fresh garlic in bread. The recipe I have is for a bread machine, hence the dry milk powder. I have posted the recipe below. I have tweaked it some from the original.

Treasure - any possession that is highly valued by its owner.

June 14, 2009

This is my Mother's Day gift from Addie. At kindergarten they planted marigold seeds, and ours just never germinated, so on Sunday I replanted some daisies, and I'm now hoping for a better result. I have a cute plate that Jack decorated for Mother's Day when he was in kindergarten. I think I've mentioned it before. He drew an airplane on it, and when I asked why he said because he liked how we rode on jets all the time. Oh, the imagination of a 5 year old boy.

Downpour - torrential rain.

June 13, 2009

This is the crazy rain storm from Saturday. It rained sideways for a while, and the wind blew our bucket of wiffle balls all over the yard. We did get a brief reprieve from the rain today, but I think more rain is expected on and off for the rest of the week. This week is Strawberry Days here in town, so rain would be problematic. No one likes to watch a rodeo in the rain! (I don't really care for a rodeo in any sort of weather, but that's another entry for another day).



Garlic & Parsley Bread
2 cups warm water
2 T butter, softened
2 T dry milk powder
2 T white sugar
1 T salt
3 T dried parsley
4 t garlic powder
5-6 c flour
1 T yeast

1. Sprinkle yeast with a little bit of sugar, add 1 cup warm water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until yeast is foamy.
2. Add other ingredients and mix until dough is smooth and elastic.
3. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with a dishtowel and place in a warm place to rise until dough is doubled in size.
4. Punch dough down, divide into two loaves. Shape loaves and place in two greased loaf pans. Place in a warm place to rise.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Brush with butter after removing from oven.

Confection

Confection - any sweet food, such as a cake or a sweet.

June 12, 2009

Ahh . . . chocolate bliss. Chocolate cupcakes (recipe from a few days ago), chocolate buttercream frosting, chocolate sprinkles. I had to take a potluck item to the ward block party (aka Mandatory Socialization) tonight. I guess they were good, because they were all gone by the time I got through the food line. We even had good weather for the block party this year. Last year it was cold and windy and miserable. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and I have to say that there are some adults in this ward who are surprisingly good at the Macarena. Me - I don't dance. Not even the Macarena, not even the Hokey Pokey. I prefer the supervisory role.



I am beginning to think after 6 months of daily picture taking that food is a very prominent aspect of my life. I love food, I really enjoy cooking and baking the food, but I am starting to wonder about my focus on the food. When I look at the 6 months of pictures, all nicely scrapbooked and placed in an album, there is really a lot of food! I guess I can stop wondering why I'm not losing weight. I have a daily photographic food journal that tells the sorry tale!

Rainbow

I gave in to the cold weather today. It was inevitable, after - what is it now?- 4 days? 5? of rain. . . and rain . . . and still more rain. I served a baked potato bar for dinner, and the cold and the rain put me in the mood for scones so I cooked up some scones and it was all good comfort food. Apologies to Lane who had baked potato bar for lunch at work, and he doesn't love pototoes that much in the first place.


Mmm. . . potatoes. Which brings me to another important subject - butter vs. margerine. I am of the firm belief that there are some places that margerine simply doesn't belong. Baked potatoes and homemade bread are 2 of those places. No margerine on the table tonight brought about some degree of consternation by some members of this family, who simply haven't learned that lesson yet, and who are crazy enough to believe that there is "no difference" between butter and margerine. NO DIFFERENCE!!!! Are you kidding me? There is a huge difference! Luckily, we were out of margerine so it was only butter. You know the commercial on TV with the Buttertons? Yeah, that's me.

Rainbow - an arched display in the sky of the colours of the spectrum, caused by the refraction and reflection of the sun's rays through rain.

June 11, 2009

This was the most amazing rainbow. Lane & I were driving home from the mall, and we saw this rainbow. It was amazingly bright and you could see the full arc, not just half of it. All I had was my phone, but still managed to catch the faint "double" rainbow. This picture was taken in Lindon, not too far from home. I was hoping to get another picture with my camera when we got home, but in the few short blocks between, the rainbow faded and the moment was lost.

Unruly

Unruly - Difficult or impossible to discipline, control, or rule.

June 10, 2009

See, is it really any surprise that Jack's hair is always a wreck? Lane's morning hair (and by morning I mean afternoon since he sleeps during the day) is a great source of family amusement. Not only our family, but apparently to his family all growing up.

I took Jack and Addie down for their first session of summer library class today. Addie informed me that she didn't like her class - it was too pre-school, and she's a big first grader now. Jack said his was pretty fun. They did something with playdough. Addie checked out a bunch of new books so she left happy.

Anticipate

Dolphins Cove, Jamaica. Gotta love the tan lines on Lane's feet.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I think this is the river that comes off Dunns River Falls. I guess that would make it Dunns River, huh?

The rainbow our last afternoon of the cruise.


This is the day we boarded the ship. There is just nothing like the smell of the hot Miami sun beating down on the wood decks that have been freshly washed down. This is where my "happy place" is.

Anticipate - To look forward to, especially with pleasure; expect.

June 9, 2009

These are from our cruise last fall. It is my picture for the day because I leave for the next cruise in 101 days. No, I'm not quite so pathetic that I keep count. Luckily, carnival.com does that for me. I don't have any digital pictures of our time in the Cayman Islands because we swam with the stingrays so I used a waterproof disposable camera and I have never scanned them, nor did I have the good sense to have a CD made when I had the photos developed. Someday I will get them scanned, but even still, photos cannot do justice to that gorgeous island. The water was clear unlike anything I have ever seen or can describe. I guess you'll just have to experience it for yourself. But back to Jamaica: not so great. I don't recommend it.

This time we are going to the Western Carribbean again, specifically Progresso, Mexico and Cozumel, Mexico. We intend to go see the ruins at Uxmal from the port at Progresso. We saw the ruins at Tulum 2 years ago during our cruise to Key West & Calica, Mexico. That was such a great experience! We had arranged privately for a tour with Helaman - a Mormon guy that gives tours. It made the tour so much more interesting. So it is our intent to get Helaman again to give us a tour of Uxmal. I don't know what we plan to do at Cozumel. There is so much to choose from, so we are open to suggestions from anyone who has been there. The port we leave and return to this time is New Orleans. I'm a little bit freaked out about that because I watched far too much news coverage of Hurricane Katrina. But I was kinda freaked out about Miami (too much CSI Miami viewing) and we never had any problems, nor was I ever even a little bit nervous or anxious once we were there. The people could not have been friendlier, and I just gotta add: South Beach = Heaven. That is my other "happy place." Johnny Rockets, yum. Art Deco District, beautiful. Atlantic Ocean, breathtaking. Ahhh . . . be back in a minute, going to my happy place.

Okay, I'm back now. I'm so looking forward to some time away, enjoying the humidity (yeah, humidity is ok when it's only for a short time), the water, and another cruise. It's truly the only way to travel.

Practice & Improve (Hey - that one actually makes sense!)

Improve - to make or become better in quality.

June 8, 2009

So I took another crack at the apple pie thing, and I had much better luck. I won't go into what I did wrong the first time because it is just far too shameful. Let's just say that I learned a great deal from that previous attempt. I still need to work on the whole flaky crust concept, but overall I think it came out great and much, much prettier than the last time. So now that I have checked bread, pretzels, cakes from scratch, and pie off my list of things to learn to do before I die, I am now on Petit Fours. I don't know why. That's just the next random thing on my list. Please don't any one suggest that I need to learn to make pasta. I am not a big pasta fan, with the exceptions of spaghetti and pasta salad in the summer time. Lasagna, fetticcini, etc., I can easily live without. Don't even get me started on bow tie pasta, or that one that is a tube shape. I just don't care for it, any of it. Which is unfortunate considering Lane LOVES pasta. Except Lasagna which we are banned form having in the house. Something about him eating it every day, so he doesn't want to see it, eat it, or smell it at home. A similar ban exists for Salisbury Steak. We can have French Bread pizza, but he doesn't want to have to eat it.

Practice - To do or perform (something) repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill.

June 7, 2009

Taylor branching out in her music a little bit. She has been hung up on Twilight for a while, so I'm glad to hear something else. I'm not a big fan of the Twilight music. It's too, I don't know, creepy? I guess. I prefer music that is more cheeful and less dreary.


We finished up our regular season of baseball tonight. Our team had a great game, and we won. I don't know the final score. I couldn't see the scoreboard from where I was sitting, and they shut it down just as soon as the game ended. Jack hit a pop fly and got out, and struck out once. I was Treat Mom tonight. Since I was already in the baking groove, I baked about 6 dozen cookies and gave cookies for the treat.


We had Grandma Wilson over for FHE tonight. Lane cooked up some foil dinners. We had hoped to eat outside but it was too cold and it was raining off and on. We had a good visit, Taylor gave a short lesson, and then after pie and ice cream we were off to the ball game.


Taylor will be working on collating rodeo programs all week, Jack will be off spending some quality time with Grandpa, so I'll be left home with Addie to entertain. But, on the plus side, she won't have Jack to antagonize. She sure knows how to push his buttons! I guess that comes with being the youngest. Well, not in my case of course. I was an angel. I was the perfect child. Ask anyone. Except Calvin, Sabrina, Troy and Mie. They lie.

Procrastinate

Procrastinate - To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness.

June 6, 2009

This is piles, and piles, and piles, and still more piles, with piles underneath it all of scrapbooking that needs to be done. Laziness? Oh yes. I had everything caught up not so long ago, and now I go in to work on it, having the best of intentions, and I look at how it has piled up and I lose my determination. I think that it's actually not quite as bad as it looks. This is my "dumping ground" for all things I don't want to deal with. So that is one of my goals this week, to get it sorted and into some semblance of order that isn't quite so shame-inducing.


I had to lead the music for the ward baptism today. Lane teases me about being a speed-talker when I have to speak in church - I can deliver a 20 minute talk in 3 minutes flat. Now he also knows that I am a speed-leader. I warned the piano player that I tend to go fast, and I REALLY concentrated on trying to go slow, but even as we were singing I knew I was going to fast and still felt powerless to correct it. And who writes songs in 12/8 time anyway? What's that about? Honestly, what am I supposed to do with that?


I helped Taylor on her quilt today. She got all the blocks sewn together and I pinned them together into strips. I think she is getting more excited about it now that it is taking some shape. And she is getting better with the sewing machine. It only came unthreaded once and she fixed it herself.


The cable is out. I have trained myself to fall asleep to the TV, so what am I supposed to do now? Read? Count sheep?

Ramekin

Ramekin - a small container for baking and serving one portion of food.

June 5, 2009

I got myself a set of silicone bakeware (yes, as a matter of fact, it is red), and it had these little cake pans, I think they are called ramekins and they make litle individual cakes. They turned out so cute! I tried out a new chocolate cake recipe, and, by incorporating a few little homemade cake-making-tricks I have learned, it turned out perfectly. Exactly the right texture. AND it didn't sink in the middle when I took it from the oven like the other recipes I've tried did. I've never used silicone bakeware before, so I wasn't sure how it would all go. They are pretty floppy pans so I put them on a baking sheet and had to guess at the time since my recipe I was following was for a 9x13 cake. I stood at the oven and watched it like a hawk and, well, I guess I have to toot my own horn because they could not have turned out better. The recipe is below.

FYI - the cakes I removed from the pans while warm came out much easier (and prettier) than the ones I removed from the pans after they cooled.

Moist Chocolate Cake

1 cup butter

1 3/4 cups white sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups milk

2 1/2 cups flour

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and sift together 3 times.

2. Cream butter and 1 CUP sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Alternately add the dry ingredients and milk to the butter sugar mixture until well blended. Set aside.

4. Whip eggs and remaining 3/4 cup sugar together until foamy and slightly thickened. Add this mixture to cake batter and mix well.

5. Pour into prepared pan(s). Bake at 350 until done, 40-45 minutes for a 9x13 pan. My ramekins which are larger than a regular cupcake took about 25 minutes.

I dusted my finished cakes with powdered sugar and added a cherry on top. The drizzling on the plate is just strawberry ice cream topping. It added some needed color as well as a little extra yummy flavor. I imagine you could use this recipe for a molten cake. I think I will try that soon. A carmel drizzle would also be tasty.

I finished up cleaning out the downstairs book cases today, and then moved on to Addie's room. We went through all of her clothes and sorted stuff out for DI and stuff that needs to be cut off for shorts. Then I pulled some boxes from her closet of Taylor's old clothes, as well as some other hand-me-downs we have acquired and had Addie try things on. I think we may be all set for school next fall! There were a bunch of jeans that are hardly worn and fit her just right. I bought her a bunch of new sweaters when I was in St. George in March for about a buck each at a sale. So hopefully I won't have to get her much. I love, love, LOVE hand-me-downs.

Then, since I had the cleaning bug, I moved on to Jack's room. He had assured me that his room was all clean and I wouldn't have anything at all to straighten. Let's just say that 1) he was WRONG, and 2) that vein in my forehead started doing that throbbing thing that makes my eyes hurt. For a smart kid, Jack sure has an interesting idea of what "Clean" means. Having never been a little boy myself, I have to hope that's just the way little boys are and he really isn't, um, mentally challenged, because I wonder sometimes.

Taylor is home from Girls Camp and all is right with the world again. I missed her.

I took the kids down to the bank today because the bank where the kids have their accounts (and by THEIR, I mean the ones they actually have access to, not the secret ones Lane and I keep for them) because this bank will reward students for good grades one time a year. So everyone got the maximum allowable and everyone was happy. Addie now has $12.00 is this account, and she is so proud you would think it was a million. Taylor is a pretty good saver, but Jack has a very strong impulse to spend money the instant he gets it. I can't blame him for that, that's the way I was (shhh - am), so he comes by it honestly.

Privacy

Privacy - The quality or condition of being secluded from the presence or view of others.

June 4, 2009

More of my backyard photos. While I am of the opinion that my parents over-planted the yard during their 33 year occupancy of this house, they did a very good job of filling in the back chain link fence which now affords us some degree of privacy from the canal road/local walking & jogging & biking & horseback riding path that runs behind our house.



I must say, this canal road is very handy to have so close, even if it is unsightly. It is a very pleasant and safe place to walk or ride a bike. Some crazy people jog the canal road. I don't know how they manage it considering how uneven and rocky it is. I guess they are people who aren't prone to falling down. I am prone to falling down, so I use that as my excuse to not jog. Not that I am lazy or extremely non-athletic, or even that I am "obese" as the Wii Fit reminds me every time I turn the dang thing on (which is just rude!). Yes, I use the excuse that the ONLY place I have to jog is the canal road and it really is too dangerous for such an activity. Yes indeed, the ONLY place where I could possibly jog. And that would be selfish of me to risk an injury when I have a family to care for and a job. See, I am only looking out for other people. I am a giver.





This is an updated picture from "Tangle" from a while back. Lane hacks away at it every spring, and by mid-summer it will take a machete or an underground tunnel to get through the fence gate. I do love the privacy though. Hmmm. I like to spy on other people, but I sure don't want anyone looking in on me!



Jack's team lost their game tonight. Jack is crushed, feeling that he personally lost the game. True, it wasn't his best outing, but there were some calls that just didn't go our teams way. I won't go into it here, because I can feel my blood pressure rising and my face getting hot, so I'll just let it go with that. Lane was terribly frustrated during the game but kept his cool. Luckily he had some time between the game and leaving for work to calm down some. It just wasn't a good night. If they had just . . . sorry, I won't go there. It was just a bad night.


Taylor will be home from Girls Camp tomorrow. Thank goodness. Everything around here seems very odd and a little bit empty with her gone. It's amazing how much difference one person can make.