Favorite Quote

I came across one of my favorite quotes and thought I'd post it here with my bean canning recipes so I don't lose it again. It's attributed to Marjorie Pay Hinckley, but I can't verify that. I hope it was her because it sounds like something she'd say/do. All I come up with on a google search are a bunch of other blogs with this same quote posted and attributed to her. So, I'm going to join a long line of fans. No matter who the author is, the thought is a great one.

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny new sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with cildren's sticky kisses on my cheeks and tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

-Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Winter at Aspen Grove

This may be a bit long, and I apologize. Our family loves Aspen Grove, so when the Wellness program offered snowshoeing or cross country skiing there for the families on Presidents Day, we jumped at the chance. We'd never been there during the winter before, but we love it in the summer. I thought we'd post some pictures, for those that care, to see the difference. Here's a link to some pictures of Aspen Grove last August.


Looking at the dining hall from the parking lot.

This the other side of the dining hall, where the sign-ups for the tournaments usually are.

Amphitheater, notice you can only see part of a couple of rows of benches and that's only because they are somewhat protected by trees.

A front-on shot of the Amphitheater from the front door of the Lodge ("candy store part" as the kids call it!)

On the bridge looking towards the pool. The snow comes up to, and covers the bottoms of the slides.

The shuffle board courts.

Pioneer Village at the far end of the field.

Greg is wearing snow shoes and is still up to his knees. Yes, it snowed on us for a little bit.

Sand volleyball courts, taken from inside the pavilion. That snow depth is not created from shoveling. It's the real deal.

Playground next to the volleyball courts.

Entrance to the swimming pool.

Another of the entrance to the swimming pool.

Standing at the main-camp end of the bridge. This picture is taken facing the amphitheater. That's Joseph next to the pile of snow.

The snowshoers stayed on the pool side of the camp. THe Cross country skiers were on the cabin side of camp. This was the only cabin I could see from next to the dining hall. I think it's really one of bathrooms/showers, but the snow is half-way up the side of the building.

Hot Chocolate and donuts after we're done.

Steven on the patio between the dining hall and the parking lot.

The next two are just for comparison. They are taken in our front yard after we got home. Definintely more snow up in the mountains!

That's it, or at least all I'm going to post here. It's kind of hard to believe, looking at these pictures, that the last time we were there we were dying in 105 degrees. Joseph didn't recognize anything until we were done and were pointing out what each building was. He thought we'd gone to a different place. I saw the manager of Aspen Grove today and he said they have less snow this year than last so far. Glad I'm not shoveling!

GIve Me 72 Hours And Then You'd Better Not Mess With Me

I have mentioned before that Greg and I participate in the BYU Wellness program activities. Part of the reason is that we are supposedly developing better health. The other part is that they pay us to do so. It's not much and, to be honest, I didn't think I could be bought for so little. Apparently I can.

The current activity is focused on strength training. We can choose the areas we want to work on. The idea is to do as many reps as you can of a particular exercise, wait a day or two, then do it again. Sounds rather enticing, doesn't it! I have chosen to do push-ups (yes, the girly-on-your-knees kind because the regular ones kill my knees), sit-ups, and squats. Normally I just go until I can't anymore which has gotten me to about 25 push-ups, 20 sit-ups, and 60 squats (yea for hiking to school and back!).

Wednesday night, Greg decided to alternate between sit-ups and push-ups. He did 10 of one, then 10 of the other, and then repeated the cycle. He did an amazing amount- 70 push-ups and 101 sit-ups. He's been sore ever since. Not being very intelligent, I decided to try the same experiment tonight and I want to report my success. Yes, it's almost midnight, but if I don't type this before going to bed I won't ever be able to type it. I can feel the rigormotis (even though the rest of me is still alive) setting in quite rapidly. My arms feel like my legs did after climbing up and then down all the stairs at the Bunker Hill Memorial. I'm not sure I'll be able to lift them tomorrow. I didn't even get to the squats.

So here's the report. (Drum roll, please.) 116 push-ups and 101 sit-ups. Go ahead and be impressed. I am, at least until morning. In the morning I'm going to feel really stupid. I know this because it is already coming on. My hope, though, is that by the beginning of next week (or maybe next month) I will have some very buff arms and shoulders and maybe be able to sit up on my own. I might even be able to fight off the dog that bit my friend, Lisa, in the backside a couple of weeks ago, but not tomorrow. Until I can move again, I'm pretty much a sitting duck.

The Millionaire Next Door...

... is not me, but someday it would be fun! I've heard about this book for several years and never actually taken the time to read it. I've listened to others tell me some of the ideas and called it good. Greg and I are currently taking a class about preparing for retirement and the instructor requires the book for his real college students. I'm still not reading it. It's been on hold at the library, but the CD's were in so I checked them out and am listening to them.

I have to explain here that the financial world has always been a huge mystery to me- even more than the inner workings of automobiles. I've always known to have a budget, live on less than we earned, and put money into savings, but never really understood what all the terms were and how they applied to me. That's the biggest reason we're taking the class. I really dislike feeling unintelligent.

Well, between the class and this book, I think I'm starting to get it, just a little bit, but get it none-the-less. What an empowering feeling. I love feeling like I know what to do to take charge of a situation and make it go the direction I want, even if it takes a little (or a lot) of work. I'm also very much a patterns an equation kind of person. Who knew that there were formulas and guidelines to bring order to the mass of chaos that the financial world is to me?! I'm even beginning to be interested in going back to school in this. It's like a whole new exciting world.

That, my friends, is one gigantic Everyday Miracle.

Garbanzo Beans

Ok, Jenny. This one's for you.

Canned Garbanzo Beans
Wash dry beans. For the number of pint jars used, measure 1/2 c. (slightly rounded) beans into a large pot. Cover beans with water and cook until beans are tender (1 to 1-1/2 hours). Fill jars with beans, 1" from the top. Add 1/2 tsp. salt to each pint and fill with boiling water up to neck of jars. Adjust lids and pressure at 10 lbs. for 60 minutes.

Not quite as easy as regular beans, but not too bad. Good luck!

Canning Beans

Today is Monday, which means I should be blessing my house (cleaning it) and returning it to its' regular, somewhat clean, state after a weekend. Guess what, I really don't feel like it today and I've been really good at coming up with other, hopefully somewhat productive, things to do. For instance, right now I have the pressure canner going with 9 pints of beans- 4 white, 4 red, a 1 black. I've been meaning to can beans for awhile, but I keep putting it off. Today, it ranks higher than cleaning the house so it's getting done. After I'm done here, I'm going to make some oatmeal bread because I've been putting that off, too, and I thought it sounded good today.

There are two things I like about canning beans. The first is that it can be done in the winter time. That means I can heat up my house when I really want it hot, not when the A/C has to run majorly over-time to compete with the stove. Second, dry beans are so cheap, but take forever to cook on their own. Not to mention the fact that cooking them all day also heats up the house in the summer. Pressure canning them takes them from dry and hard to soft and ready-to-eat in less than 90 minutes total, if everything runs like it should. They're also sealed in a jar and can sit on my shelf looking pretty until I'm ready to use them.

This post has two purposes. The first is it gives me something to do besides pushing the vacuum or the duster or cleaning the downstairs bathroom. The second is that I have misplaced my recipe to can beans on several occasions before. Since I currently have it right in front of me, I'm going to post it here where I can always find it again. I guess a bonus for the readers of this post is that they, too, now have access to the recipe should they ever want it, and I know you've always wished you had it! So, enjoy!


Canning Pinto Beans (or whatever kind you like)
Prewash dry beans. Measure 1-1/3 c. beans into each of 7 quart jars or enough to fill your cooker. Add 1-1/4 tsp. salt to each quart and fill with boiling water up to the neck of jars. Adjust lids and pressure at 10 lbs. for 75 minutes.


See how easy that is?! I'm doing pints because I use that size more often, so I just put in 2/3 c. beans into a pint jar instead. My canner held 9 pint jars easily. It probably could have done 10 if I squeezed. I also don't like all the salt, so I just added 1/4 tsp. You could leave it out completely if you wanted. The only beans I think you can't do this way are garbanzo beans (chick peas). At least this paper has a different recipe for canning them. I've never used it because I don't use garbanzo beans enough. Let me know if you want it though, and I'll post it. Double bonus for you!

Elder and Sister Woffinden

They're Off!

Today's the big day. Mom and Dad should be checking in at the MTC as I type. They get a week of training, stay with us Friday night, and then be off for some great experiences in the Washington D.C. North mission.