Apron yumminess

I have done it again. A new amazing swap organized by Lucy and Shawnee!

Apron yumminess indeed!

If you hurry and sign up by midnight tonight you will be entered into a drawing for some adorable gift tags.

Hurry. or as we would say in Hong Kong fidiaaaaaaahhhhhhh.

I have no idea how to spell that last word. Phonetically it is fie-dee but in Cantonese they often add aaahhhh to the end of words.

So there is your added Chinese bonus. I bet you didn't even stop by for that. Next time I will have to teach you your address and then you will be able to tell the taxi drive to where to get you and to do it FAST.

Happy New Years!!

Oh, and yesterday was Molly's Birthday and tonight she is getting baptised. Yes, my baby is 8! We are having a rip roaring party after her baptism, so hopefully I will remember to take pictures and share them with you tomorrow.

Twice

You really need to hear what happened yesterday. But first a will have to give you a little history of what we have been up to.

On the 26th we loaded up to go to Fall Creek Falls and stay in cabins with my in-laws and celebrate Christmas. It is only about 30 miles to Fall Creek Falls, but takes about an hour to get there because we have to climb a mountain and then spend time driving through the park.

We arrived and had a great time. Between Adrian and his sister Gretchen we have 10 kids ages 7 to 16. They had a blast.

Molly received a very special present from her cousins. A male Beta Fish.

Molly loves him and named him Lewis. Or maybe Louis. I haven't asked her (0:


So on the 28th we headed back down the mountain to come home and officially close out Christmas 2008.

We had moved Lewis/Louis out of his bowl and back into his plastic container with lid that he came home from the pet store to transport him home. The container looks like one of those that you might buy pimento cheese in at the deli. except that it has a hole in the top so your little fishy doesn't die. Molly was holding him on her lap.

We had been cruising along for about 30 minutes. The kids were watching the second half of Prince Caspian, as they had watched the first half on the way there.

And then:


BARF!!!

Molly threw up all over everything.

Including poor Lewis/Louis.


He is still alive, but really glad to be back in his bowl. With clean water.



The really freaky part of the story is that about a year ago we went up the mountain to Spencer to watch William play basketball and on the way home Molly threw up. At the very same spot. We have some friends that live along there and we pulled into their driveway both times to clean her up.

This is onefamily tradition that I hope we do NOT continue in the future!

Happy Birthday to Me

Happy Birthday to Me

Happy Birthday to Me

Happy Birthday Dear Cynthia

Happy Birthday to Me

37 years old today

Also.. head over to wish this blogger congratulations. She was smart enough to give birth to a baby today. In honor of me, no doubt!!

Welcome Joshua. (Unless they decided on a different name)

Facebook Quandary

is that how you spell quandary? Anyway, I decided to type in the names of long lost friends in Facebook today. Some people I had not seen since I was 7.

30 years ago. wow


I found many of them. Or I found their brother or sister.

So I sent out some messages. And received many responses. It was neat. and overwhelming. and scary. and unsettling.

People make choices. Sometimes they are surprising. or shocking. or disappointing. or inspiring.

My friends are now Doctors. and Professors. they are grey headed. or bald. have grown beards. changed religions and ideologies.

Teenage crushes are now holding their babies in pictures.

I am not sure if sometimes memories are better than reality.

Ho Ho Huh?

It is 10:00 PM and I am waiting for my pan of corn syrup and sugar to reach 238 degrees so I can make homemade marshmallows for tomorrow mornings parties.

Let the Holiday madness begin!!


Update~~~

It is now 10:29 and the beautiful fluffy white goodness is in a jellyroll pan hardening up.

If it is easy to cut in the morning this is definitely a keeper recipe. It was SO easy.

If you make them let me tell you what worried me,. and then you will be able to do it stress free.

When you pour the boiling, 238 degree sugar/corn syrup mixture into the mixer bowl you end up with a watery grey stuff. It is totally gross looking. I was afraid I had scalded it. I mean, marshmallows are a perfect white....

They turned perfect white about 9 minutes into the beating time. Once it quit sloshing around and I could turn the mixer up nice and high.

Oh, and yeas, it tastes heavenly. I can't wait to sample the finished product tomorrow. Ella and Molly will be taking them to school to float in their hot chocolate while they have a quick Polar Express party. Tomorrow is one of those silly 2 hour days, so they will really only be there an hour and then...



woo hoo 3 weeks of Christmas holidays!!

Adrian's Explanations and the REAL explanation

My husband had two ideas of what happened to cause the wild rumpus. (name the book!) He told us these the next day because he promptly went back to bed once he saw that no children were injured.

Explanation 1:

When he first heard Molly start talking about blood (everywhere, as she put it) and Ella had gone into the bathroom he thought Ella was bleeding. He decided that the cat must have decided to play with Ella's hair while she was asleep and shredded her face.


Umm, what is she Cujo kitty? I can hardly picture her shredding Ella face. And even if she did, why was she running and spitting and hissing and the dog chasing her if she was simply playing with Ella's hair? Nope, interesting theory, but untrue. No children were harmed. At least not that night....

Explanation 2:

When he found out that Ella was okay and that Esme was just actually leaving bloody footprints he decided that Esme had cut her foot.

On some broken glass.

In her litter box.

While she was doing her business.

So she started growling and hissing and jumping around while still in the middle of going. So that explains the poop and pee on the floor and the blood. And then the dog just got excited because Esme was freaking out.

Sorry, but how did the broken glass get in the litter box???

Nice try Adrian but wrong again.


So he did not know what had happened. And none of you have figured out yet, either. Kittens are a good guess, but Esme is only about3-4 months old herself, so we still have a little time before she can have kittens.

I told Adrian that I was going to tell you all his theories and then tomorrow night tell you what actually happened, but he said that was mean, so I will tell you.

We have some barn cats. And we have French Doors in the basement. Every once in a while those doors blow open. And in comes a visitor. This night the door to the basement stairs was also slightly ajar, which is not so uncommon because Rachel has a bedroom down there.

Now Bandit loves little kitten Esme, but he also LOVES to chase the barn cats.

See what happened? Barn cat creeps upstairs. Bandit sees/smells/hears barn cat. chase ensues. Barn cat has crap scared out of him.

LITERALLY.

Barn cat escapes back downstairs before any of us can get ourselves out of bed to see what is up.

That is why sleepy Esme was rubbing up against Bandit instead of all puffed up and mad. She slept through the whole thing.

Do you think that cat will venture into the house again?

We really need to remind Rachel to check the deadbolt on that door before she goes to bed...
She will end up with a possum in her bed. Or a skunk. Ugh, could you imagine? I guess we are lucky it was just a cat!

AAHHH life in the country!

3:45 AM

A few nights ago I was happily sleeping. I love to sleep. We got a new mattress this summer and it is heavenly. I could lay there all day. I f my husband was like a normal husband and left the house in the morning to catch the train to go to an office and work for some mega company, I might stay in it all day.

That would so rock.

Instead he stays home and works from the living room. By his own choice he gets up before the sun and goes and starts working. No one makes him. How self motivated is that?

I think he has a mental illness. Really. Who does that?

SO back to my happy sleeping. I was cozy, under 3 big blankets and the cutest blue sheets with brown flowers on them when there arose such a clatter that I had to spring from my bed to see what was the matter. teehee


Now, let me back this up, I never wake up. NEVER. Molly will get up at 4:00 in the morning and take a shower. the bathroom door is 3 inches form my open bedroom door. I never even know she was up until I find her asleep on the couch with wet hair at 5:50 when I get up.

But this clatter was loud enough to wake the dead. The dead and asleep in her comfy happy bed Cynthia.

It was a cat. Spitting. Meowing. Having a total, dare I say, hissy fit. This was accompanied by a dog. Barking, growling, running into furniture, walls. CHAOS.

I make it into the living room and Ella is already out there, standing next to the basement door crying. I try to figure out what is wrong. I assume that the kitten, Esme, has tormented the dog, Bandit, and he has finally decided to put her in her place. But while I was trying to comfort Ella, Esme walked sleepily out of Ella and Molly's room and rubbed up against Bandit.

Were these the animals that were tearing into each other 30 seconds earlier?

Then Molly starts freaking out. "Esme is bleeding!!!" I scoop Esme up and tell Rachel to go and get a towel. (Notice how many people have shown up by now, I told you it was loud.)

Upon further inspection, Esme is not bleeding, she has simply walked through a small pool of blood in the doorway of the girls room. Then we notice cat pee in a long line. And poop. Bits of cat poop in about a ten foot long trail.??????????????


What has happened? Molly figured it out right away.

Any guesses? I will tell the rest of the weird story tomorrow and tell you the two strange theories Adrian had.

Have I learned a new blog trick?

http://www.box.net/shared/483f1kcd59

I wanted to add this as an audio clip that you just clicked and it played. Like a YouTube video.

I have failed. You click it and then have to click again. It isn't hard, just not perfect! I like perfect.

But it is a recording of the Free Beer and Hot Wings guys reading Adrian's story and making fun of him.

My husband is not shy

and it does not bother him to have people laugh at him. Case in point:


Did you all enjoy his story of setting up a Christmas Tree?


He decided to send that story to the Free Beer and Hot Wings Show. It is a syndicated morning radio show out of Grand Rapids Michigan that plays on a local Nashville station that my husband listens too sometimes. (warning, they use questionable language, he has to turn them off a lot)

So this morning they read the story, verbatim.

And then dogged my husband. Hardcore

It was enough to make any wife proud.

I tried to upload the audio but I cannot figure out how. When I figure it out I will put it up here.

Homecoming Freak Out

we have a wee bit of a Homecoming Drama at our house.

The school picks the dress the girls wear.

You guessed it. Plunging neckline and bare shoulders. SO NOT MODEST. (well, maybe it is appropriate for a party at HUGH HEFNER'S house!) Rachel is looking for nude colored leotards to wear under it. She is going to try to get them to consider going to a different website (like BeautifullyModest.com) but right now it is just making me worry and her feel frantic.

I think that it is moments like this that she needs to stand up and let people see who she is and what she believes.

AARRGHHHH, this is hard!

My husbands contribution to Xmas blogging

Adrian is starting to blog. Kind of. He wrote this story out and sent it in an email to the kids, but I wanted to share it with everyone. He said it was okay. Feel free to laugh out loud at him!




I was listening to the radio this morning about the host's Christmas tree experience and it reminded me of a one of my stupid experiences from a few years ago.

I bought a live Christmas tree, brought it home and cut the bottom of the tree off, as you do. I drug it in across the floor to the corner where it was to stand. I did not think to cover the floor with plastic and thus had pine needles all over the carpet. For some reason, I decided to vacuum the needles up before standing the tree. With floor kind of cleaned, I began to stand the tree up when I realized that the tree was too tall. Cutting the top was not much of an option, but I could cut a bit more off the bottom, and that should work. I was not looking forward to the mess of needles again on the carpet and decided it would be less messy to cut the tree inside and just clean up the small amount of sawdust.

Here is where the stupidity starts. Most people would have used a hand saw of some sort, not me, I go out to the porch, retrieve my chainsaw, and bring it in the house. I must have flooded it when I cranked it because it started billowing blue smoke everywhere. The house is quickly filling with smoke, my eyes were burning, but at this point I am committed. It should only take a minute. I was almost finished when I realized that the chain is slinging oil and oily sawdust everywhere, ceilings, walls, carpet, everywhere. When I finished, the house was so full of smoke, we had to pack up the little kids (4 kids and the oldest was 3), open all the windows and doors and leave. 3 hours later, the smoke was gone but the smell and mess did not leave completely for days.


This is representative of most of our decorating experiences....

No list today!

Yesterday I finished numbers 1,2,3,4,5, and part of 6.

Today I have to go to work, so as it is 8:35 I really need to start getting my tail in gear. But just so you know today I have already cleaned the top oven, folded a load of laundry, emptied and filled the dishwasher. And of course made breakfast, packed lunches drove kids to school, yada, yada,yada.


I am feeling sooo inspired by Lisa's idea of chocolate chip cookies. NOT. sorry Lisa, thanks for commenting. p.s. you need a blog!!!

But April had this idea and my family real likes those Andes mint thingies, so maybe I will try them this year.

Well, get your tail in gear and do it!

Yesterday I was the picture of motivation. I would have given Snow White a run for her money in the housekeeping department even without the animals help. Because you know what?

ANIMALS DO NOT HELP WITH HOUSEKEEPING!

I'm sorry to burst your bubble. They shed, and get into trash cans and lay on the back of the couch and sleep.

Like that stinkin' kitten needs a nap more than me! If she would quit spending her mornings playing "I want to eat all the bare toes that walk anywhere in this house" she wouldn't be so tired. I'm just saying....

So I need to tackle the list, but I am no good with leftovers so I decided a new list would be more motivating.


1. shower. I forgot to put that one on yesterdays list.
2. vacuum up the ten million needles on the ground. AGAIN.
3. empty dishwasher and fill it back up.
4. go to Walmart and buy Goodnights. And more Christmas lights. and TP, milk, OJ,
5. FINISH all laundry
6. buy gifts for out of town nieces/nephews
7. decide what cookies to make
8. buy fabric for Grandma's present. This should be easy. She likes taupe. and taupe. and camel. and antelope. and dark camel. and sand. Those are all colors. I very much doubt she likes those animals.
9. make appt. at orthodontist. See Rachel, I will remember to do that someday soon!


Hey, that is pretty manageable. Here is where you guys have to help me. What kind of cookies should I make? Now do not be shy, leave a comment and tell me your favorite kind!

Homecoming Queen?/I really accomplished a lot today

The list has been whittled down significantly. I completed:



1. mail package that I was supposed to mail like a week ago.

2. vacuum ceiling fans

3. go to nice vets office and buy flea medicine for Esme. Those of you in northern and western climates probably think I am kidding.I wish I was kidding.
Fleas. 12 months solid.

4. Decorate our house like a Christmas wonderland. Let me make a comment here. I totally outdid myself this year. My family room looks like a Christmas wonderland. Things are swagged and hung and setting and just so decorated. I never thought I had it in me.

5. iron all 743 of Adrian's shirts (it is times like these that I LOVE Netflix. Miss Marple and I will iron tomorrow.) I included this as complete because I ironed enough shirts that he has one to wear tomorrow. And the next day. I know 2 isn't very impressive but man it kills my neck to iron. I may do another couple before I go to bed. Maybe

6. wash two complete sets of Molly's linens from her bed. Including comforters. including mattress pads. Can anyone guess the problem? I washed about 6 loads and have one in right now. I only have one blanket left and maybe one load of clothes but they are random colors so I will have to wait until tomorrow to make full loads.

15. clean and cook. I washed and put away 3 loads of dishes today. but truth be known I did not cook anything. Adrian cooked his own lunch and we ate dinner out.


Now I just need to finish numbers 7 thru 14 tomorrow.

~~~And now for some really exciting news~~~

Rachel has been voted onto the Homecoming Court at school. She and the other freshman girl have to have matching dresses. They go pick them Monday.

Pretty cool, huh!!

The same thing every year

Really, it is. Even though the tree has new lights this year. (Yes, we put it up tonight. All it has is lights so far. Or is that all it has are lights so far? hmm) A million things to do and so I am going to make all of you make me do the junk that needs done.

Are you ready for tomorrows list? Me either. Or is it me neither?


1. mail package that I was supposed to mail like a week ago.
2. vacuum ceiling fans
3. go to nice vets office and buy flea medicine for Esme. Those of you in northern and western climates probably think I am kidding.

I wish I was kidding. Fleas. 12 months solid.

4. decorate house and turn it into a total Christmas wonderland for my kids.
or maybe hang one wreath. We will have to see about this one.
5. iron all 743 of Adrian's shirts (it is times like these that I LOVE Netflix. Miss Marple and I will iron tomorrow.)
6. wash two complete sets of Molly's linens from her bed. Including comforters. including mattress pads. Can anyone guess the problem?
7. bake 15 different kinds of cookies.
8. choose fabric and sew my mothers Christmas present.
9. sew the special secret thing I am making for Ella and Molly. I would tell you, but they read this blog without fail, so I am not gonna ruin the surprise.
10. take pictures of and post about the apron I got from my Sassy Apron swap partner. It is blue and brown and I love it!
11. take a nap.
12. delouse chickens. oops, wait a minute, that is something that would be on Martha Stewart's to do list. NOT on mine. Mine might say, run over chickens.
13. figure out what to get my niece and two of my nephews. And then send it to them. Along with a selection of the 15 different cookies I baked earlier in the day.
14. finish remodelling the basement
15. clean and cook
16. wrap presents


well, that is just what I can think of tonight. I will add to it tomorrow.

So what are the odds I will finish it all tomorrow?

Edit~~ It is 6:55 am. I have packed lunches. Made breakfast. Fussed at William for not getting up. Been informed that I have a third set of linens to wash. And I forgot to mention the electric blanket, too. Oh, and Rachel called and said that she forgot her music book, so I will have to drop that off before school ends so William can drop her at piano.

Gladys, I have let you down by not finishing before 6:00 am, I know, but I am plugging along. I will update in a few hours.

Could someone please tell me how to do a strike through? How else will I know what I have finished on my to do list?

way cool professor

Homework and Missionary Work Come Together on Student Blogs

Ashley Evanson 12/02/2008 02:59 PM MST

Blogging is more than just posting family pictures, dishing on your favorite things, or a soapbox for you to stand on and spill your heart out. In the eyes of one BYU professor, blogging is how he and students share the gospel worldwide.

For his religion class this semester, Richard Holzapfel changed his usual scripture log assignment to an online blogging assignment where students write their thoughts and feelings on gospel subjects.

“I read Elder Ballard’s call for members of the Church to engage in the online dialogue about the Church this past summer [Ensign, July 2008],” Holzapfel said. He soon thereafter heard a returned missionary expressing disappointment in no longer being able to continue his mission work. “It hit me. We can continue doing missionary work in Provo and at BYU because ‘The world is our campus,’ and the world is alive online.”

In Elder Ballard’s Ensign talk, he wrote, “The emergence of new media is facilitating a worldwide conversation on almost every subject, including religion, and nearly everyone can participate.”
Holzapfel asked his religion classes to create a blog for the sole purpose of Gospel discussion. “I asked them to be ‘real,’” he said.

He explained the impact he and students can have by comparing the situation to cars. People aren’t always convinced by a car commercial, but if their friend has a new car and likes it, they might be more willing to buy one because of the non-authoritative recommendation. “The Church Web site is important,” he said. “However, people will more likely listen to real, flesh and blood members than the official Web site.”

Ryan Howard from State College, Pa., is one of professor Holzapfel’s students. He told BYU’s newspaper the Daily Universe that he was hesitant about the assignment at first.
“After we discussed it a little in class, I realized that blogging can actually be a pretty effective way to get ideas and opinions out there, and in the context of this assignment, increase the amount of pro-Mormon material on the Web,” he said.

Holzapfel said he and students have already seen positive results, engaging in conversations about the gospel with people all over the world.


To read Holzapfel’s blog, go to rsc.byu.edu/blog. For a full list of his students’ blogs, e-mail ashleyk@ldsliving.com with the word “blog” in the subject line.
--- -->

Topher tells a funny

So I was out blogging around (oh hush, you know you do it too) and came across this.

And I really wanted the rest of you to read it. And laugh.

Advent Conspiracy

This is from April.

I love it. Go and visit her and see how great she is.

Other Peoples Christmas Decorations

Here is my third installment of other peoples Christmas junk:

This is my favorite so far. I think I will be making one of these. Someday. Like 2013. Maybe.

Head over to Green Jello and look at her fab Advent wall hangy thingy

Dinner

This is from today's Serious Eats Newsletter. I am in LOVE. I want to eat this 3 meals a day for the next week. Really.

Can you believe this kind of lusciousness greets me in my Inbox? I am one lucky girl...

Bubble and Squeak
- serves 4 -
Adapted from April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig.
Ingredients
1 pound green or Savoy cabbage, thinly sliced/shredded

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

6 tablespoons butter
1 to 1 1/2 pounds leftover mashed potatoes, or 1 pound potatoes, boiled and mashed
Salt and pepper, to taste
Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. In large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat and add the onions with a good pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until soft, then add the cabbage. Cook for an additional 15 minutes until the cabbage is tender.
2. In a large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes with the cabbage mixture, stirring thoroughly to combine. Adjust the seasoning, then mold into 4 patties.
3. Heat the remaining butter in the same skillet and fry the patties until brown. Transfer to an oven-proof dish and heat through in the oven as the patties come off the skillet. Multiple skillets can be used to expedite things.
4. When all the patties are in the oven, fry 4 eggs in butter. Serve with freshly cracked black pepper.

Witty Wednesday/Christmas Stuff

Sent to me by my SIL Jennifer:

LOST IN THE DARNDEST PLACES:

An elderly Floridian called 911 on her cell phone to report that her car has been broken into.

She is hysterical as she explains her situation to the dispatcher: 'They've stolen the stereo, the steering wheel, the brake pedal and even the accelerator!' she cried.

The dispatcher said, 'Stay calm. An officer is on the way.'


A few minutes later, the officer radios in. 'Disregard.' He says. 'She got in the back-seat by mistake.'


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

On a completely different note, here is part 2 of

Pictures of Other peoples Christmas Decorations

(Is that what I even called it last time?)

Jan Mary is posting pictures of her decorations. One post for each day of December. She is a digital scrap booker, so if you are needed some digital scrap booking help, just pop on over.

To her blog. You could go to her house, but she lives in Ireland. Yes, she is a leprechaun.

Just kidding. I hope that isn't an ugly thing to say in Ireland. When I lived in Hong Kong people there used to think I came from a family of gangsters because I had lived in Chicago. I was never offended, just mildly amused. So please Jan Mary, just be mildly amused at my lame attempt at humor.

Okay, now that I have offended everyone of Irish descent. HOLD ON. I am of Irish descent.

Just go and look at her Christmas pics!!

my favorite price: FREE

Another for my LDS friends. And really they have lots of stuff any Christian family would want....

FREE SHIPPING today only at Deseret Book (December 2)

The only catch is that you have to spend $50. But I always spend $50, so it is not much of a catch for me. ha ha

enter the code Free50 and you are set!

Now hurry and finish your Christmas shopping with out leaving your house. That is the way I do it and I know you all want to be just like me.

No autographs, please

Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!!!!!!!


I noticed that someone had linked to me from a page I had never heard of.


My blog is mentioned on MormonTimes.com

I am a freaking Mormon celebrity.

okay, she doesn't actually mention me personally but she has a link to my post about the apostle song. I can't even remember where I found that now.

Oh my gosh. Have I mentioned that yet?


SO I can't even think straight now. But I wanted to let you all know that in my perfect organization I have my advent countdown box thingy ready and filled up until Christmas. First year ever! Usually I am scrounging 10 minutes before it is time for one of the kids to open it.

And it is snowing. Can you believe it? It is 37 degrees out though, so it is just muddy on the ground.

So I feel the need to be really witty and useful so these new visitors will like me.

That is really lame to even think!

What I really need to do are get the pictures from William's Eagle Court of Honor on here. And figure out what to get my mother for Christmas. And what to get Lucy for Christmas.


Help, please.

Pictures of other peoples decorations

As you all start posting pictures of your Christmas trees and decorations I have decided to live vicariously through you.

Because I am not a decorator. I would even be unable to play one on TV. I just can't seem to motivate. But I can bake. See, I do have Christmas skills, but they are consumable skills. Anyway, I am starting a new , ummm, thingy here at Dahhhling I love You.


PICTURES OF OTHER PEOPLES DECORATIONS

Great idea, right? Cause I won't have pictures of my own decorations. We will have to put up a tree because my parents are coming. Sooo, I need to be sure and have that up by December 23, in the afternoon.

You will be happy to know that I purchased some new lights for the tree because we discovered at Halloween that ALL of ours were dead. If that seems like a weird thing to discover at Halloween, let me explain. I went to Trunk or Treat at Church. AND I decorated my area.

I know, good job Cynthia. I wanted to use our lights to light up the 3 carved Pumpkins that we had. I cut holes in the back and stuffed the lights in since we have a no candle rule in the church building.

Our tree lights were all dead, as I said, so I used the dangly outside lights that we haven't hung up in ten years. They worked fine.


So, without further ado here is a link to my friend Lisagh at Grograin Garage. I can give you a commentary on what you will see at Lisagh's:

Preppy pink and green stuff.
monogrammed stuff
these banana shoe things that she really likes (they go between your toes and seam to cost more that $30, so I am out)
Canada
key fobs
naughty kitties
an AWOL sock monkey

I LOVE her blog. I always have fun reading it. I think it is the blogs of people with totally different lives than the ones we live that are the funnest to read, don't you guys think so too? Is that are really ridiculous run-on?


She has a problem that worries me, too. curious kitties.

Will I have an installment of "How Esme destroyed the Christmas Tree?"

Man I hope not. Adrian has been threatening her with a trim of her whiskers whenever she is naughty. He is just trying to tease the girls and me.

I think.

Oh, here is the LINK

First Presidency Song. It's a catchy little diddy

For those of you interested in learning more about the First Presidency:

If you have not planned FHE yet, this should take care of it for you!!

Selfish Thankful Lists

I had a special FHE last night and assigned the kids to come up with a list of things they were thankful for. I told them that I know they are all good kids and that they would obviously put things like, Heavenly Father, the Plan of Salvation, the Scriptures, etc, etc, on their list. I told them to skip those and make a selfish list. A list that spoke about their personality.

Adrian and I were also supposed to do this. We didn't get our list done. Adrian picked up his place card and pretended to read off of it. I got so tickled that I could not stop laughing.

C.O.U.L.D. N.O.T. S.T.O.P.!!!!!!

It was pitiful. Then the kids started to ask him why this or that wasn't on his list and he would say stuff like," well that is number 6, do you want me to skip ahead? " This got me so tickled that my cheeks actually started to hurt. Laughing injuries!

So I made the kids give me their lists so I could print them. Molly lost hers while sitting at the table.

Yeah, don't ask....

William

Phone
Car
Bacon
Microsoft
Vacation days from school


Lucy

Band
computer
friends
chocolate milk
indoor plumbing
blankets
heating & air conditioning
chocolate milk(she didn't realize she had put this on the list twice!)
money


Rachel

Shopping
(money)
(malls)
the color pink
turtles
books
EFY (Especially for Youth)
John Bytheway
computers
memory foam mattress pad
sleepovers
(friends)
clothes


Harrison

toilet paper
my shower
my DVD player and DVDs
Movie editing websites
books
church and God
IPODs
Swords


Ella

Bandit
music and songs
books
pastel colours
crafts
McDonald's
electric blankets
Family Home Evening
sports
Mrs. Lambert
Esme (our cat, not the vampire)


maybe I will find Molly's later.

oh, the weather outside is mild :o(

It is 60 degrees out today! I have the windows open.

I am ready to look out the window and see this. We have had so many winters without snow. I miss living in the great white north!

In case you are curious we have cooked, eaten and cleaned up Thanksgiving.

Oh, and we are NOT putting up our Christmas tree any time soon!!!

A visit with my secret boyfriend Jim

Last night Adrian was watching the Office on Netflix. He carries the laptop into our room and watches as we go to bed. Usually he has earphones in because I like to read and can't when the TV is on. Last night he was watching and I was tired and so I turned off the light and kind of started to watch with him.

It was 10:00 PM.


We watched episode after episode. Until 2:00 AM!!!!!!!


I feel like crap.

But the turkey is stuffed and in the oven.

I think I am going to go lay down.....

An apology to Anonymous

I am re posting a post that i wrote on May 1, 2008. I just received a comment on it today. Here is the comment:


Anonymous said:
could you PLEASE STOP making fun of church of Christ churches!It`s not nice AT ALLLLL.Very mean and childish!

Umm, okay. I was not making fun of Church of Christ churches. I was making fun of Molly. My daughter Molly. She made a mistake. and we laughed about it. I do not think that my kids church of Christ school is really going to ban candy.

The public schools have done that already!

See, I can't stop making jokes. I re post it so you all can help anonymous see that I was laughing at Molly. I pointed out the no dancing rule, but not in a mean way at all. It is just a rule, no big deal.....
So anonymous, I apologize if I offended you. It was NOT my intention at all!!!!







May 1, 2008
Death by Chocolate?
So yesterday I picked up the kids from school. I also had Bryce with me cause Wednesdays are when Bacon at 3 have there practice sessions before church. Adrian had told me earlier in the day that some of William's friends from school had gotten into some trouble when they were on the limo ride to the formal junior/senior dinner.

( A little back round info...William goes to a Church of Christ school so, no dancing allowed. Just last year they started having a formal dinner for the Juniors and Seniors. Like a prom, without the prom part!)

Anyway, some kids got into a wee bit of trouble. I was talking (okay, giving him the 3rd degree!) about the exact specifics of what had happened. I kept using the word liquor.

After about 10 minutes of discussion Molly says:Hold on. I do not understand this conversation. Why did he get in trouble for having LICORICE in the limo?

Yeah, watch out for those Church of Christ schools. They are banning Twizzlers. We have to stop the insanity before it spreads to Reece's and Snickers!

Posted by Cynthia at 5/01/2008 08:59:00 PM 6 comments
Labels: family life, molly, William
June 2008 April 2008 Home
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yummy comfort sandwiches for a cold day

okay, so we had to have lunch before we went down to the dungeon.

basement!


I like to read, and one of my fave authors is Joanne Fluke. She writes mysteries and her main character is a lady named Hannah Swensen.

Hannah lives in Minnesota and owns a cookie shop. She finds dead bodies and bakes cookies. She rocks! Anyway there are recipes mixed in the books. it is so much fun. today i made her grilled cheese sandwiches. it really isn't a recipe, but you just replace the American cheese you normally would use and use cold cream cheese. I cut it into thinnish slices and just made them like normal with butter and white bread.

Yummy.

leave it to me to find a way to make grilled cheese sandwiches even less healthy!

now i really am going to spend the afternoon in the basement! ....except i need to go and buy a turkey for Thursday....

oh look, a pretty butterfly.....


is that Elvis down by my barn?.....


have I read my scriptures yet today?....

OKAY! I AM GOING!!

spider egg sacs in my hair

below our house lies the basement. most of you probably can say the same thing. i have never cleaned the basement. we have lived here 11 years.

it is vile

it is disgusting

it has dead mice and cobwebs

there are 2 bazillion spider egg sacs. really.

my washer and dryer are down there and so is one of my daughters room. Her room has been cleaned and painted. About 2 years ago. She sort of cleans it, but she is way too easy going.

We have decided to redo the basement and move her room and make a giant family room. a massive TV, pool table, lots of couches, teenagers having parties room. I want this soooo bad. ROCK BAND would be downstairs.

Let me repeat that... ROCK BAND would be downstairs. I know, it is like a dream.

But now I have to clean the basement. And throw away the crap. and paint the cement floor and cinder block walls. Adrian would do it, but he works. I love that he works. I just wish that a fairy godmother would come and **POOF**

so instead of being in the basement chucking moldy books into the back of the truck i am cleaning the kitchen. folding laundry. wiping the bathroom sink out. online Christmas shopping. all these things need done, right???

are those crickets chirping?!?!

TAP TAP TAP

IS THIS THING ON?

HELLOOOOOOOO OUT THERE?

Is everyone on a commenting hiatus? I can see you are still coming by. I use my super powers and watch you all at your computers.

really.

but you forget to comment.

you are all killing me. what? you think you are busy or something?

sheesh....

This amazing thing called the Internet

There are so many amazing things on the Internet. One of those is my book review blog, BOOK JUNKIE.



Okay, they what as a self serving plug, I know. But I was investigating a comment that was left on Book Junkie by Jeannette. I got excited because I discovered that her blog is A Comfy Chair and a Good Book. I have her blog listed on my sidebar, it is great. She is so much better at reviewing books than I am, but I am trying to improve! Anyway, upon further investigation I realized she is a contributor to a fabulous blog called Family Home Evening Planner.

You have got to check it out. It is so cute and filled with great ideas for FHE.

I heart the internet. And I heart you my beautiful readers.

Oh, and you too handsome guy reader, have you been working out?

Lucy's Christmas List

My children are wonderful people. They have simple needs. They are not greedy. I plan on posting every one's Christmas List. Today I will start with Lucy. For those of you that do not know her she is a super hard working, math loving, 14 year old band geek who has a thing for Duck's.





That Duck thing is kind of an inside joke.







Here is what is written on a slip of paper on the refrigerator:





Yearbook

Texting

Shoe Laces









Have we failed her some where along the way?



Oh, Adrian ordered her the yearbook last night. $70. Is this a normal price? Yes, I know I am giving away the secret, but he actually had her order it because the website was strange and confusing for my Cave Man husband....

bye bye Postum

It is a sad sad day!!!!!




http://news.adventist.org/data/2008/1200610280/index.html.en

Book Junkie

Yes, It is true. My name is Cynthia and I am a Book Junkie!!!

Are you trying to find entertaining and CLEAN books? Click the link. Or the picture. Or the picture on my side bar....

**********************************************************

Okay, I am really hungry and when I went over to check out MsCellania I found this recipe:

http://mscellania.blogspot.com/2008/11/cheesy-vegetable-hotpot.html

If I had the energy to go to the store and get the ingredients I would make it tonight.... instead I believe I will have to just prop my head up with a wooden spoon and continue looking at other peoples delicious dinners.

Is that Dominoes at the door?

hmm...

does this dress remind you of anything?????

OUCH!

Breakfast buffet is muy grande

The good ship Watermelon. Ahoy, matey!

Landing on a palm tree studded island....
Adrian wanted me to add a little edit here at the bottom. That Palm Tree is carved from a watermelon, just like the Jolly Roger above it. He was worried that some of you might not realize it.

oh, here is the porridge

okay, it is oatmeal, but it was really thin like porridge. Adrian put so much sugar in it and his hot chocolate that the waiter laughed at all the empty packets. He used all of them that were on the table.

Breakfast Sausage

I just have one thing to say.... THIS IS NOT BREAKFAST SAUSAGE!! But it is what they delivered to our table the morning we left the never dull Hotel Lucerne. Adrian ordered a bowl of oatmeal and some sausage. These are sliced in half, cut to look like octopus, deep fried hot dogs.

I know that sentence was atrocious. On the menu there is a picture of beautiful sausage. They must have been out of it.

Viva Tijuana

This morning Adrian and I left the house at 6:30 am. We drove 80 miles to Nashville. We were at Gate C20 at 8:30. Our flight was to leave at 9:50. Mechanical problems gave us a new departure of around 10:45 and a new plane. Soon we were cruising the sunny, albiet bumpy, skies. Four hours later we landed in San Diego. After a quick van ride we ended up at the Hotel Lucerne. Viva la Tijuana....





Here is a picture from our hotel room of the mountains

Roundabouts all along the Avenue of Heroes.

And another view from our balcony. It is a little hard to see so I will tell you what you are looking at. SHACKS. Shacks clinging to the side of the hill. Sort of reminds me of Hong Kong and the Phillipines

And for dinner.... Mexican, of course! First off, Chicken Rice Soup. mmmm...bueno

Hot sauce, crushed peppers, chips and Adrian's Chicken fajita's.

My chicken enchilada's with chipoltle sauce. Muy yummy!!

inside the resturaunt

live piano music...

the sauce sampler. Has anyone else noticed that I was so obsessed with tasting the food that I didn't take any pictures until after we had eaten half of what was on our plates?

tomorrow we may do a little shopping....

This is appropriate if you like President Bush or

if you like President-Elect Obama since it can apply to either one. See how I can bring all people together to sing in perfect harmony? I think that maybe the Queen is referring to Bill Clinton in this speech... Just a thought.

It will ruin it if I tell you that I think President-Elect Obama is a dangerous bird brain with a frighteningly destructive liberal agenda.

To heck with the world coming together in perfect harmony. I don't even ever drink Coke! I like my opinion too much to not share it. Please feel free to voice your opinion in the comment section. I promise to not delete the ones I do not agree with. Really!! To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of
the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your
independence, effective immediately. (You should look up 'revocation' in the
Oxford English Dictionary.)

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will
resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories
(except Kansas , which she does not fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, Gordon
Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further
elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. (A questionnaire may
be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.)

To aid in
the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced
with immediate effect: -----------------------

1. The letter 'U' will be
reinstated in words such as 'colour,'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.'
Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters,
and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-'ise.'Generally, you will
be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up
'vocabulary')------------------------

2. Using the same twenty-seven words
interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an
unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as
U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft
spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u''
and the elimination of '-ize.'-------------------

3. July 4th will no longer be
celebrated as a holiday.-----------------

4.You will learn to resolve personal
issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so
many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent.
Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out
without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot
grouse.----------------------

5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own
or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will
be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in
public.----------------------

6. All intersections will be replaced with
roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect.
At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the
benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you
understand the British sense of humour.--------------------

7. The former USA
will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly
$10/US gallon. Get used to it.-------------------

8. You will learn to make real
chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things
you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are
thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with
vinegar.-------------------

9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling
beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be
referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be
referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound
for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the
beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them.
American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can
be sold without risk of further confusion.---------------------


10. Hollywood
will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood
will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters.
Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in 'Four Weddings and a
Funeral' was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese
grater.---------------------

11. You will cease playing American football. There
is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave
enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to
American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds
or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of
nancies).---------------------

12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is
not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not
played outside of America . Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world
beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and
we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their
deliveries.--------------------


13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been
driving us mad.-----------------

14. An internal revenue agent (i.e., tax
collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the
acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).---------------

15. Daily Tea
Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs,
with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream)
when in season.

God Save the Queen!

Stone Door State Park

This is the "stone door" at Stone Door State Park. Adrian took the Scouts to camp there last night. Indians used it as a cut through once upon a time. It saved a lot of extra walking....Later that night Harrison cooked some of his world famous Great Value Ravioli. YUM YUM. He used this little folding Sterno stove. Very light and handy when you back pack in to the campsite like they did this time.The next morning they decided to see if they had 9 lives and jump offs of cliffs. Some people call it repelling. I call it Repulsive. But who am I to judge?Well now that very small not steep rock was easy. Now for something a little more terrifying. I mean more fun. Lets tie a rope to a puny looking tree and jump backwards off a 100 foot tall cliff. II believe I have called these boys lemmings already when they went cliff jumping into the river. Maybe I should start calling them clinically insane!!Here, it has a little ledge at the beginning. No big Deal.GULP!! BIG DEAL!!!MOM DID NOT NEED TO SEE THIS!!!!!!


Just another day living with Danger Boy.



















AND




HIS





DAD!!................

Harrison has very little fear

Gotcha Day for Max!!!!!!

They have him...

Check it out HERE!!!

BOO

Did I scare you? Let me start by showing you dinner last night. I got this recipe from Abby at a Feathered Nest. Click HERE to read it.

One word people....YUM

And so stinkin' cute! Adrian made me take a picture to prove that I really cooked our dinner in a pumpkin. He says he would not have believed it.

He was trying to call me a liar, I guess.

WHAT. EVAH. Cause I know I baked it in a pumpkin.And now the spooks. Or should I say the Book Characters. Heaven forbid the kids actually celebrate Halloween at school. SHEESH.

First we have Nancy Drew sleuthing her way. Note the magnifying glass. Don't look to close Nancy, you will see evidence of poor housekeeping!Next up is a delightful little girl names Sophie Kringle. She is the main character in a book called Auntie Claus. I snagged the dress off of EBAY last week. Just in time. WHEW!Here is a picture of Molly holding her book with a pic of Sophie Kringle. Spitting image, dontcha think? This is the year we are going to win. Right?And using the Skeleton Key her dad made her this morning. In the book it opens the elevator that shoots up into the sky ala Willy Wonka to take you to the North Pole.

a lot happened today and giveaway winner announced!!!

I have so much to tell all of you! Really, I do. Let me start with this...

On this day, 37 years ago, my mother-in-law gave birth to her smartest, funniest, best looking child.

Just kidding, Gretchen, I know that really describes you!

Today is the birthday of my sweet husband. We had a party for him. The kids hung streamers and balloons and I made him his special birthday dinner. Wait until you hear what he asked for.

Have I mentioned how much I love this man?

Let me preface this by telling you that most years for Father's Day and his birthday I make a long involved meal. Something he loves that I never make because it is a huge hassle.But not this year!


He asked for.....




You are all going to be jealous.....




Here it comes.......



Frozen pizza.




I know, he does rock. He wanted a frozen Pizzeria Uno sausage pizza.


NO PROBLEM!



******************************************************

Part 2 of my many things to tell you.....

One year ago today Harrison had to have an emergency appendectomy. I blogged about it HERE. It was a harrowing week last year at this time. Needless to say Adrian didn't get ANY birthday dinner last year. We stayed at the hospital all week.

Good times!
*******************************************************


NOW there is the little matter of the book giveaway....


I put all the names in a very festive orange bucket and let the birthday boy pick one out. And I took a picture. Good thing, because as soon as he picked one out he threw it back in and said take another picture.

What a funny guy. We let him get away with it since it is his birthday.

I would show you the picture, but my camera died trying to take that last picture, so I have my battery in the charger.

I guess


I will



just tell



you that



it was







The Accidental Housewife!


SO email me at cnhale(at)gmail(dot)com with your address and if you want Jan to sign the book in any special way.

I haven't actually seen Jan since I decided to give her book away in my first ever giveaway. She did not come in on Monday while I was at the library. I may have to call her and go to her house tomorrow after work.

I hope she is excited.

My husband asked me where the accidental housewife lives and I told him she is from Montana. Now he can't stop singing that Marie Osmond song, Meet Me In Montana.


Great, just great, and it is his birthday so I can't complain.

When Pigs Fly

This is a sticky note. It will stay at the top of my blog until next Tuesday. The new posts are below... Jan Shinpaugh lives here in my little town. She comes into the library most Mondays and returns about a dozen mysteries and then checks out a dozen more. This is here first book. I will admit that I have not read it yet. I am planning on buying two copies this week.

One for me.



And one for you. Yes, I am looking right at YOU. I have decided what to do for my big blogiversary giveaway. And yes, I am late. That is one of the traditional ways that I celebrate.

I am going to give away Jan's book. I may even get her to sign it, if that is what the winner wants.

Here is the synopsis from Amazon:

Join Jan and her family as they head to the top of Tennessee’s Cumberland
Plateau for the annual homecoming at the church and cemetery, and try to
discover if Cousin Theodore really does have God locked in his moonshine closet.
Get in line as Cousin Theodore, now a born-again Christian, dispels advice and
little jars of blessed moonshine to visitors who’ve come to see God. And help
the family solve the mystery behind the disappearing items in Cousin Sam and
Cousin Joe’s country store. Join in the humor and fun as Jan and the family
attend the gospel singing and foot-washing ceremony. And generally, have an
all-around good time.

So as you can see, Jan reads mysteries but writes comedies. She told me she is working on two more books. In one of them a woman believes that her bull is a reincarnation of Elvis.

I know, it makes me giggle, too. These books are set in my area, and I'm afraid that makes it even funnier to me. I like to laugh at the locals.

Stop it, I am not a local, I have only lived here for 11 1/2 years. That is hardly enough time to have even become fluent in the local vernacular. Which I am not fluent in. Because I have to learn teen vernacular, also. Learning two languages at once is too much!

So go ahead and comment and tell me about your favorite books. I am dying to read them. Really.

And if you mention this giveaway on your blog, of course you get entered twice!

C'mon, even if you are not a reader, I bet you know someone that is, and Jan's book would make an excellent gift. Remember, I am going to beg her to write a little something inside for the recipient. So you could have it inscribed to Great Aunt Myrtle or Cousin Ezekiel.

Oh, People outside of Tennessee don't have relatives with names like those?

You have until Tuesday October 21 at 9:00 pm central time.

And then Wednesday is Adrian's birthday, so maybe I will have to give away something for that.

Like a chicken!


Oooohhhh, I almost forgot. If you leave a comment and you click up there on the right corner of my blog and become a "follower" that will buy you another entry. If you already are a follower I will enter you a second time if you leave a comment.

Did that make any sense at all?

All they do is camp

What is up with my husband and sons? They act like a bunch of Boy Scouts. Every month it is the same thing.

CAMP

CAMP

CAMP

It must be a terrible burden! Look at how unhappy Harrison is.... And William....
And to make the utter desolation of emotion complete(What did I just say?!?) They went and played laser tag the next morning.

For two hours!

My poor pitiful boys.

amazing....

I found the most amazing site. Look at how cool these are!







You can get anything you want. Your name, a saying, your family name. I see the first thing I am going to put on my Christmas list!