I'll tell you what...
1. It's the 17th anniversary of the day I went into the MTC--10.07.92--and it's a Wednesday again. So if I were in UT Valley, I would take James and go over to the MTC and watch the new kids get dork dots and the crying--I love the crying.
2. It's the last day my Grandparents are in Utah, so I hope they are livin' it up in style...maybe lunch at a sweet li'l bistro...
3. Steph is going to be on Oprah! YOU MUST WATCH OPRAH on 10/7 (SET YOUR DVRs) even if you loathe her (and I'll admit to needing TUMS to get through some shows) and see the magnificent Clark and Nielson families share their testimonies!
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Monday, October 05, 2009
Here's my hubs SHAKIN' THE TREE...and then I remembered the Peter Gabriel song...wow, life is full of happy coincidences. I'm shakin' some trees, too.
oops--the code is broken--I'll be back with the actual clip when vimeo gets crackin'.
4:40--link still not ready, but here's something even BETTER (I made it last night as cupcakes and it was FAB--try 1 stick of butter + 1/2 c applesauce= less fat, more yum) :
Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups regular all-purpose flour, unsifted
1/2 cup cocoa
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup soft butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Glaze (directions follow)
Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
1 Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
2 With a mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until they are smoothly blended. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel, and zucchini.
3 Alternately stir the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition.
4 Pour the batter into a greased and flour-dusted 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes (test at 45 minutes!) or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes; turn out on wire rack to cool thoroughly.
5 Drizzle glaze over cake.
Glaze: Mix together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 Tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Cut in thin slices to serve. Makes 10-12 servings.
Shake the Tree! from MelinFamily on Vimeo.
oops--the code is broken--I'll be back with the actual clip when vimeo gets crackin'.
4:40--link still not ready, but here's something even BETTER (I made it last night as cupcakes and it was FAB--try 1 stick of butter + 1/2 c applesauce= less fat, more yum) :
Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups regular all-purpose flour, unsifted
1/2 cup cocoa
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup soft butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Glaze (directions follow)
Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
1 Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
2 With a mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until they are smoothly blended. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel, and zucchini.
3 Alternately stir the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition.
4 Pour the batter into a greased and flour-dusted 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes (test at 45 minutes!) or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes; turn out on wire rack to cool thoroughly.
5 Drizzle glaze over cake.
Glaze: Mix together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 Tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Cut in thin slices to serve. Makes 10-12 servings.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Happy Sabbath Thought...
I made this last night...one of my favorite Nibley quotes with one of my favorite pictures.Saturday, October 03, 2009
Addie on Parenting (again)
We were seated at our bar tonight (Rich was gone to priesthood meeting) eating dinner (another soup--beef stew this time, made with our own carrots, onions, green beans, corn, and tomatoes, local beef, and store-bought celery, with RHODES rolls on the side--HEAVENLY) and I was still scolding Heidi for getting into the frozen yogurt and getting it into her hair FIVE MINUTES after her bath & blow-dry.
"I need you to listen and stop making bad choices," I said.
"Well, you're the baddest mom in the world!" she retorted.
"Yeah, you're the baddest mom!" James chimed in.
I was about to ask them if they meant that in the Michael Jackson-sense of the word, because then I would say, "Why, thank you!" But Addie piped up first.
"Hey guys, mom is NOT the baddest mom in the world!" She turned to me as if to share a secret and said, "They just say that when they don't like what you're saying. You're not really a bad mom."
"Oh, thanks," I said.
"Heidi, if mom was the baddest mom she wouldn't know how to cook or do the dishes. And she would say mean things all day and lock us in our room, " Addie explained.
"And she would take away our toys and she would just sit on the couch and eat chips and watch movies, " Heidi added.
"And feed us just, like, celery and peanut butter for dinner," said Addie.
So there you have it folks--a backhanded list of what it takes to be a bad mom. I hope that makes all you moms feel much better about yourselves [ROFL.......].
"I need you to listen and stop making bad choices," I said.
"Well, you're the baddest mom in the world!" she retorted.
"Yeah, you're the baddest mom!" James chimed in.
I was about to ask them if they meant that in the Michael Jackson-sense of the word, because then I would say, "Why, thank you!" But Addie piped up first.
"Hey guys, mom is NOT the baddest mom in the world!" She turned to me as if to share a secret and said, "They just say that when they don't like what you're saying. You're not really a bad mom."
"Oh, thanks," I said.
"Heidi, if mom was the baddest mom she wouldn't know how to cook or do the dishes. And she would say mean things all day and lock us in our room, " Addie explained.
"And she would take away our toys and she would just sit on the couch and eat chips and watch movies, " Heidi added.
"And feed us just, like, celery and peanut butter for dinner," said Addie.
So there you have it folks--a backhanded list of what it takes to be a bad mom. I hope that makes all you moms feel much better about yourselves [ROFL.......].
Friday, October 02, 2009
What Addie Said
I was in the kitchen tonight just about to put dinner on the table (beef-vegetable soup with homemade tortilla chips) and Addie came into the kitchen, sniffing the air, saying, "Mom, that smells SO GOOD!"
"Have a taste," I said, handing her a chip.
She tasted the soup and said, "MMMM! Mom, that's really good!" [thank you, Bear Creek Country Kitchen]. She stood there for a second kind of wistfully stirring the soup.
Then, appropos of nothing she said, "When I was 4, I thought you were going to torture me when I got bigger."
"What? What do you mean by torture you?"
"I thought you would--you know, lock me outside and only let me come in for lunch or dinner and bed, and stuff like that."
"Why would I do that to you?" I asked.
"I thought that's what parents were for!" (how sad is that? too much cinderella!)
"So what do you think parents are for now?"
"To keep you safe and make you happy and help you choose the right so you can grow up and be a parent, too," she explained.
"That sounds good," I said. "Do you think that Dad and I are doing that?"
"Yeah! And now you're my best friend, too! And this soup is so awesome!"
I just cracked up and hugged her. It's so crazy how kids' brains work and how/what they deduce from life experience. For example, I made a mental note to myself when I was about six that the boy I married should be close to my age because if he were, say five or six or seven years older (like my dad was than my mom) then we would get divorced. Imagine my confusion when I discovered that my happily married grandparents were six years apart!
Anyway, I just love my girl so much--she's growing up to be such a sweet and thoughtful and helpful person.
"Have a taste," I said, handing her a chip.
She tasted the soup and said, "MMMM! Mom, that's really good!" [thank you, Bear Creek Country Kitchen]. She stood there for a second kind of wistfully stirring the soup.
Then, appropos of nothing she said, "When I was 4, I thought you were going to torture me when I got bigger."
"What? What do you mean by torture you?"
"I thought you would--you know, lock me outside and only let me come in for lunch or dinner and bed, and stuff like that."
"Why would I do that to you?" I asked.
"I thought that's what parents were for!" (how sad is that? too much cinderella!)
"So what do you think parents are for now?"
"To keep you safe and make you happy and help you choose the right so you can grow up and be a parent, too," she explained.
"That sounds good," I said. "Do you think that Dad and I are doing that?"
"Yeah! And now you're my best friend, too! And this soup is so awesome!"
I just cracked up and hugged her. It's so crazy how kids' brains work and how/what they deduce from life experience. For example, I made a mental note to myself when I was about six that the boy I married should be close to my age because if he were, say five or six or seven years older (like my dad was than my mom) then we would get divorced. Imagine my confusion when I discovered that my happily married grandparents were six years apart!
Anyway, I just love my girl so much--she's growing up to be such a sweet and thoughtful and helpful person.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Schooled at School
Today was my first day of working in Addie's classroom, even though her teacher and I have been planning on doing it for a month (James has a playdate with his cousins from 8:30-12:30-ish). So I observed for about a half hour while they worked on their reading/phonics program "Fundations" (Are any of you familiar with this program? It is spectacular! Even I was having fun!). When I learn the program, I will help the kids who aren't getting it during that time. Then we did centers--one group did reading and worksheets at their desks, one group did reading lessons at a table with the teacher, and one group did an art project with me that correlated with their story of the week (the illustrations are collages and they're framed with these cute borders that look like quilts).So all of the little "paper quilt" frames turned out beautifully--every single one--but every single kid had a different method for putting them together. I kept wanting to compliment the kids who were doing it the way I would do it (gathering up all the squares of paper I liked, then arranging them into coordinated patterns before reaching for the glue and creating the frame--the more organized, less creative way), when I realized that all the results were amazing and it didn't matter how the thing got made. See where I got schooled? It's quite the parable for life, that most of us are striving for the same ends, but often there are as many means of getting there as there are people. In most of our pursuits, the means don't matter as long as there is a beautiful end.
I came home at lunch time, but on the way home, I felt so motivated, I thought about how I could make Thursday all about my kids. I could help in Heidi's class for a while, too (maybe 8:30-10:30 with Addie and 10:30-lunch with Heidi) and bring sack lunches for all 3 of us to share, and then come home and get James. I think that would be fun. And just a month ago, I was thinking, "Yay, they're back in school! I am going to have a 4-hour block all to myself for the first time in 8 years," and Thursday was going to be Me day. It only took a couple of weeks (and no Me days at all) for me to miss my kids enough to trade in a Me day for a Kid day. Once in a while I have clarity and see how fast their childhoods are passing and know that my hobbies, educational goals, and heck--even the dishes, will still be there when my little ones are grown and gone. I've only got one shot at this, and I think I've already spent too much of it cleaning! ;)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sisterfriends
Believe it or not, I did have some personal revelation at the Women's Broadcast last Saturday, and I came home and prayerfully put it into action. The general promptings I got were to do something each week, big or small, to celebrate the amazing sisterhood I have experienced here in our Relief Society. It could be paying an extra visit to a visiting teachee, writing a heartfelt note with a generous thought ("Never suppress a generous thought"-Camilla Kimball), inviting new friends over for lunch or scripture study or craft day...anything counts, but I want to do it weekly to show my gratitude for the blessing of being in this sisterhood. So I went right to work when I got home Monday. First mission: celebrate Debbie's birthday by gathering the sister-friends for a little autumn lunch. Mother nature cooperated by sending rain-mixed-with-snow as a backdrop to our peaking fall colors. It felt all the more cozy to gather for turkey chili, corn souffle, spinach salad, carrot cake & pumpkin bread when it was so cold outside. YAY, FALL!
Not the best angle, but here are my sisterfriends Melissa (with baby Suzy), Jennifer, and Debbie.
Cute Debbie with her birthday cupcake (I love her smile in this picture--I'm happy when you're happy, Deb!)
I thought Melissa and Suzy were so cute looking on in this picture (we were singing Happy Birthday).
After lunch, we enjoyed said treats and Deb opened her cards and gifts.
How can you NOT have a happy birthday with this sweet face looking at you?!
James & Lydia had a wonderful time, too! BONUS!
Jenn & I were super busy last week and didn't get together for my birthday, so she brought my gift and card today. She always makes the most delightful handmade things--every little note from her is so beautiful--they're all just treasures!
She made me this cute little Mary Engelbreit picture and it brought tears to my eyes today. She had no idea how much it means to me.
Not the best angle, but here are my sisterfriends Melissa (with baby Suzy), Jennifer, and Debbie.
Cute Debbie with her birthday cupcake (I love her smile in this picture--I'm happy when you're happy, Deb!)
I thought Melissa and Suzy were so cute looking on in this picture (we were singing Happy Birthday).
After lunch, we enjoyed said treats and Deb opened her cards and gifts.
How can you NOT have a happy birthday with this sweet face looking at you?!
James & Lydia had a wonderful time, too! BONUS!
Jenn & I were super busy last week and didn't get together for my birthday, so she brought my gift and card today. She always makes the most delightful handmade things--every little note from her is so beautiful--they're all just treasures!
She made me this cute little Mary Engelbreit picture and it brought tears to my eyes today. She had no idea how much it means to me.***
And now, since I am in a personal history mood (remember when I told you about Lisa? well, here's more), I want to tell you about these sisterfriends. We'll go in chronological order of our meetings.
1. Debbie- I met Debbie the same day I met my in-laws, the same day I got engaged to Rich, because she lived next door to Rich's parents with her 4 little kids. I remember coming home from our little getting-engaged daytrip, and her daughter Jessica (11) and her friend Nicole were skating on the driveway. They hollered hello to us and Rich took me over to introduce me and said, "We're getting married!" and they jumped up and down and said, "that's so cool!" SO CUTE! (they're sophomores in college now--how time flies). Anyway, Debbie was always so friendly and always had such fun activities going on at her home when we would visit. I liked her instantly. When we moved here, she was my first visiting teaching companion and she did such an excellent job of kind of "teaching me the ropes" of the ward without ever saying anything negative about anyone. She was also a GENIUS at remembering special days and coming up with the most thoughtful little gifts. She was such an great example to me of how to stop being self-conscious and just get out there and show your love. She helped me to get to the point were I made my resolution to try have my own positive experience with every sister in my ward so I would have something genuinely good to say and think about each of them. She helped me to love and appreciate my mother-in-law and to be grateful for the blessing Rosalie has been in my life. She has taught me that anyone can overcome anything because NOBODY had a crazier childhood than Debbie (entire books have been written about what she lived through), and you would never know it. She has helped me to be both more patient with myself as a mother and also see the best ways to improve my mothering (and she has great kids, so I listen). Then of course, we have an AZ connection (her mom lives in Tucson and Deb lived in Mesa for 4 years), so we can cry on each other's shoulders in the March blizzards! I love you, Debbie.
2. Jenn--A couple of months after we moved here, I was shopping at the local paper/craft store (owned by a sister in our ward) and Jenn was working there. We got to chatting and she asked me how I knew the owner and I replied, "I go to her church." Jenn got all happy and said, "Oh, so do I! Well, I mean, I should. I am a member but I don't go much. I got baptized in California a couple of years ago and then moved here and I just haven't been able to get into it in this ward. But I miss it." I told her she should come back and we could be the new girls together! It took several months, but she did come back. I even offered a few paryers on behalf of her and her family, and I know they were answered quickly. Soon her husband was coming to church, and he baptized their sons, and Jenn held a calling. We were sitting in a leadership training meeting and I was feeling the Spirit really strong and I wrote her a note that said I was so glad to see her there and so glad for what had happened in her family. I told her I just knew the day we met that we would be friends, and she wrote back and said the same thing. I have tried to "be there" for Jenn, mostly, and also to discuss gospel principles as we grow our testimonies and she prepares to go to the temple. That's mostly what our friendship is--support (most of the time, it's me saying "WTF?" about her husband's shenannigans because that's one thing I'll never relate to, but at least I can listen, right?) with a little humor and craftiness mixed in! ;) Love ya, jenjen.
3. Melissa, aka brownleg--I prayed that girl here, so if she has any beef with winding up in Livingston, she can blame it on me! Where do I even start to explain my friendship with her? There are no words, really. And that's what makes Melissa special, I guess--we don't have to talk much to have a PERFECT understanding. Perhaps living parallel lives has helped (similar families of origin, same college at roughly the same time, love of MUSIC, similar interests, CES background, etc.). I think we first got acquainted through playgroup for our kids (she has 6, but 3 match up with mine) and it just grew from there. Ours is the most low-maintenance friendship of all, but somehow she's always at my door when I need her most and she always says the right thing to keep me thinking straight. Plus she teaches early morning seminary, so she's always got (a) great gospel insights and (b) crazy funny stories. Thank you, M, for every little thing. I love you!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
We had a "date-day" today...Rich took a vacation day and we worked together and played together. We had to winterize the garden and the yard because it's supposed to freeze tonight, so all my little late-bloomer tomotoes are toast! :( I cleaned up and unpacked and baked lots of fall-ish treats for our Sisterfriend lunch tomorrow--pumpkin bread, pumpkin choc. chip cookies, and carrot cake (made with carrots from the ranch!). I started a three-bean turkey chili yesterday and it's been simmering in the crock pot since then, and Jennis bringing corn souffle. It's fun to have all the delicious scents and not be one bit hungry ( I hope they're good!). So anyway, I just wanted to express how much I love my hubs and appreciate his steadiness and right-thinking, not to mention his hilariousness. It has been a wonderful day and my heart is full of gratitude, that the Lord sent him to give me a wonderful life and bind up my broken heart!Monday, September 28, 2009
the best jane siberry song of all...
how could i forget this one?
i dare you to watch this and sing along and see if you're not a puddle of tears when you're done.
cuz there's nothing, no NOTHING, like this song when your heart is broken.
or when life gets hard (I sang it to myself more than once during childbirth). go ahead, i dare ya.
***
a man is placed upon the steps, a baby cries, high abouve you can hear
the church bells start to ring
and the heaviness, the heaviness, the body settles in
somewhere you can hear a mother sing
then it's one foot, then the other as you step out on the road of hope
step out on the road--how much weight?
then it's how long and how far
and how many times before it's too late?
calling all angels
calling all angels
walk me through this one
don't leave me alone
calling all angels
calling all angels
we're trying
and we're hoping
but we're not sure how it goes.
oh, and every day you gaze upon the sunset
with such love and intensity
why, it's almost as if, if you could only crack the code
then you'd finally understand what this all means
but if you could do you think you would
trade it all, all the pain and suffering?
'cause then you'd miss the beauty of the light upon this earth
and the sweetness of the leaving
calling all angels
calling all angels
walk me through this one
don't leave me alone
calling all angels
calling all angels
we're trying
we're hoping
we;re hurting
we're loving
we're crying
we're calling
'cause we're not sure how this goes.
i dare you to watch this and sing along and see if you're not a puddle of tears when you're done.
cuz there's nothing, no NOTHING, like this song when your heart is broken.
or when life gets hard (I sang it to myself more than once during childbirth). go ahead, i dare ya.
***
a man is placed upon the steps, a baby cries, high abouve you can hear
the church bells start to ring
and the heaviness, the heaviness, the body settles in
somewhere you can hear a mother sing
then it's one foot, then the other as you step out on the road of hope
step out on the road--how much weight?
then it's how long and how far
and how many times before it's too late?
calling all angels
calling all angels
walk me through this one
don't leave me alone
calling all angels
calling all angels
we're trying
and we're hoping
but we're not sure how it goes.
oh, and every day you gaze upon the sunset
with such love and intensity
why, it's almost as if, if you could only crack the code
then you'd finally understand what this all means
but if you could do you think you would
trade it all, all the pain and suffering?
'cause then you'd miss the beauty of the light upon this earth
and the sweetness of the leaving
calling all angels
calling all angels
walk me through this one
don't leave me alone
calling all angels
calling all angels
we're trying
we're hoping
we;re hurting
we're loving
we're crying
we're calling
'cause we're not sure how this goes.
-jane siberry
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