What a fun "almost" week I had visiting family and friends in Utah! I love Utah, but this particular few days reminded me why I don't live there anymore…it is cold, no…FREEZING there! Snow, ice, sluggish car…these things reminded me of why I love to visit there, but live in San Diego…at least for now! I say this as I shiver in my office, all bundled up with wooly socks on my feet and my fingers just far enough out of my sweatshirt so I am able to type! Gas and electric are so high without running my furnace that I am afraid to touch the thermostat. We only do it when the kids are all home for Christmas to take the chill off in the morning. I haven't lived in Salt Lake City since I got my Expedition and I got to try out something that I never used before – my side mirror heaters…they melt the snow so I could see where I was going when I needed to back up…that was a very cool feature that is wasted in San Diego but nice to have for cold weather travel. I haven't been on my computer for days now, and I'm glad to get back. If I had been super organized before I left, I could have had automatic posts ready to go. But no such Boy Scout working here! Before I left
I traveled this week to Salt Lake City, Utah, to attend the wedding of my charming and talented nephew Matt and his sweet and wonderful bride, Rachelle. I almost didn't come because I am so busy at home! But after examining the things that I was busy with, I determined that my kind of busy could wait a few days, while spending this special time with my family could and should not be missed. So off to Utah I drove with my daughter Megan. What a fun time we have had. We went different directions, but got together for all the family gatherings. I am so happy to be in SLC with my family and have even been able to include friends in the rounds. Friday afternoon, after running a few errands, Megan and I decided to go downtown to plaza down by temple square. It is freezing here! We loaded the parking meter and gave ourselves about an hour and a half limit. It was fun to take pictures of the beautiful Salt Lake Temple where Scott and I were married, then Christie and Matt two years ago, and then Matt (my nephew) and Rachelle on Thursday. It was nice not to be too rushed. We walked around the plaza and came to a building familiar to me. When I was nineteen and working downtown, I remember standing in front of the big world map
In the very first verse in the very first chapter of the very first book…Genesis, we read: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. It continues to explain the six creative periods: the earth was given form, light and darkness; dry land appeared and great waters; grass, herbs, trees, all yielding seeds after their own kind; a sun, moon and stars to give us light by day and by night; living creatures, both on the land, in the waters and in the sky that were then commanded to multiply; next came man and woman, created in His image, and they were given dominion over all the earth and commanded to be fruitful. These scriptures give very little description of the actual process, but we only have to look around us to see the glorious design that is the result of the original Creation. A year ago, in the Relief Society session of General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, President Dieter F. Uchtodorf gave a talk that hit home in such a powerful way that I immediately identified with it. It is called "Happiness, Your Heritage". Please take the time to read it…again, if you already have, or for the first time if you haven't. I am adding a little short from Mormon Messages. The visual, along with the audio, has a great impact. I think the reason that this hit
Everyone! I didn't tell you how many coupons I had because I didn't know how many comments I would get, but THIS time I have something for everyone! Aren't you excited? I am! To claim your prize, I will need your addresses…unless you think you will run into me tomorrow, where I will have an envelope and your coupon waiting for you. Otherwise, I will email you and you can respond to me privately. Thanks to everyone for participating and I will keep you "posted" for the next give-away! I finally got Halloween put away today…that is, except for the one or two things that I inevitably miss – the spider glass that was hiding in someone's room…unwashed, and a black cat on the doorknob. It's just little reminders of other holidays that I don't really mind. At least now I have no "ambiance" excuse for the dust and cobwebs around the house. This is probably the hardest time of year for me…seasonally decorating wise. It's not that I'm not thankful…I am, everyday! I just don't decorate for Thanksgiving, with the exception of a fall plaid tablecloth and fall flowers. With the scrapbooking projects I do for print (and RS Super Saturday), I always work on Christmas in the summertime, so I've done a lot of layouts and cards already. So although these aren't fresh off the scrap table, here are a
to pack up the Halloween things, here’s one more idea that you are NOT going to want to forget! We just had one of those Relief Society “meetings” last night – a Holiday Baking Extravaganza. Even though Halloween has passed, I had seen this incredibly hideous idea and I was afraid that I might forget about it if I didn’t follow through and make it before next year…and this is one that I don’t want to forget. I was cruising around the Rhodes website and when all of a sudden this picture of a basket of ugly fingers was before me! You have to go check these out! I don’t want to pass on an idea or recipe that I haven’t personally tried, that is overly time consuming or hard to make. So I had to try it: Wicked Witch Dippers. Our extravaganza had 4 categories…Potluck Superstar, Kids in the Kitchen, Impress the In-laws and Spooky Sensations. Can you guess which one I made them for? I won the category – okay, I was the only one that entered anything in that category, so the win was by default! The ones on the website used a white bread roll dough, but I used the multi-grain roll dough – the seeds and color were perfect for my pudgy, grotesquely gruesome witch fingers. These took a little time, and I know how I will do them differently next time. I was a little
and it’s almost ready to come out! Thanksgiving will be here before you know it and I am practicing! Not that I don’t know how to make bread, but as anyone who does the whole 9 yards knows, with all the other food preparations that you do on that busy day (and in my kitchen, lack of space in both oven and counter), trying to bake bread from scratch can be an overwhelming addition to the meal. I’m sure that most of you need no introduction, but if you aren’t familiar, welcome to the wonderful world of Rhodes Bread! I wanted to try out some of the different techniques that I discovered on the Rhodes website and it is a good idea to play around with that sort of thing BEFORE company is scheduled to arrive so there are no surprises! Besides, my family never seems to mind the taste testing! There’s nothing I like more than a good deal…except for a really good deal! Okay, even better – an almost free or FREE deal! The only thing I like better than getting a good deal for myself is to pass the good fortune on to others. Part of my game plan for doing a blog was to eventually have giveaways. I have been trying to get used to the routine of blogging before I started pushing the “free” button, but my end goal is to drive
In Relief Society this year, we have embraced the 9 virtues that President Gordon B. Hinckley wrote about in his book "Way to Be!" - 9 WAYS TO BE HAPPY AND MAKE SOMETHING OF YOUR LIFE as our theme for the year. We rearranged them slightly, and for the month of November we chose "Be Grateful". Although we traditionally have the official day of Thanksgiving toward the end of November, when families and friends gather to share time together, there is never an inappropriate time to be grateful. In Mosiah 2:19 – 24, King Benjamin's wise council puts things into an eternal perspective: 19. And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King! 20. I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another – 21. I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day,