An Open Letter to Greg

Dear Greg-

Thank you so very much, I think, for bringing home that box of heavenly goodness.  Please feel free to do so at any time.  Loretta must be one amazing cook.  I do think it is a good thing that you do not travel to New Orleans very often and that we live on the other side of the country or your wife would seriously weigh 500 pounds.  I think that stuff should be on a DEA, FDA, or ATF hit list because I CANNOT stop eating it.  I hope you got some before you left because there's like a 99.99999998% chance that all you get when you get home is a box with a picture on it.  I don't even want to know how much butter is in it.  Good thing it's the 5th ingredient in a list of 6- right behind sugar, which is at least behind pralines and pecans.  One redeeming quality is that I can pronounce all 6 ingredients.  That means the calories are better for me, right?  I must admit that I'm not totally up on what a praline is, but I'll fix that as soon as I'm done here.  They are yummy, whatever they are.  Thank you so much for thinking of us.  We all appreciate it, but mostly me.  So glad you're home! 

Love,
Shan

pra·line/ˈprāˌlēn/Noun

1. A smooth, sweet substance made by boiling nuts in sugar and grinding the mixture.

2. A crisp or semicrisp candy made by a similar process.

PS-I've decided that I love online dictionaries!
PPS- Maybe it's not such a good thing that pralines are the second ingredient behind praline flavoring.  Looks like listing pralines at the top gives one a distorted view of how much sugar there really is in this box- and I notice there's no nutrition label.  Convenient..  This is definitely a time when ignorance is bliss!

Mission Accomplished

For the last several years I've thought it would be cool to make freezer jam from strawberries we grew in our backyard.  Yesterday it finally happened.  We went from this:

 to this:

in rather short order.

It's been declared "yummy" by Steven and now I'm off to try some myself.

HALLELUJAH! It's almost Christmas!

I saw this on Momza's blog this morning and couldn't help but share the smiles. Have a fabulous day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
(In case my posting record remains about the same, see you in January!)

Splitting the Sky in Two

I'm generally not a huge poetry fan, but the following quote has been on my mind for the past couple of weeks. I'm thinking of memorizing it, but for now I've just been letting the imagery run through my brain and find little spots to lodge itself. It is the end of a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay titled "Renascence". I read this portion on the first page of Virginia H. Pearce's book A Heart Like His: Making Space for God's Love in Your Life.

The world stands out on either side
No wider than the heart is wide;
Above the world is stretched the sky,-
No higher than the soul is high.
The heart can push the sea and land
Farther away
On either hand;
The soul can split the sky in two;
And let the face of God shine through.
But East and West will pinch the heart
That can not keep them pushed apart;
And he whose soul is flat-the sky
Will cave in on him by and by.

There are lots of applications and lessons to be drawn, but for me, right now, that quote is the perfect word picture of gratitude. Have you ever spent the day holding a pity party because you don't have this or that or life isn't fair because ___________? I wind up feeling pretty pinched and crushed. Have you ever sat down and listed the things you are grateful for? Sometimes the list starts out slow, but as I think and start writing, the list grows faster than I can get it out. Suddenly, I see my surroundings with new eyes and I feel like I have the world at my feet.

Thanksgiving is 13 days away and counting. I hope your day and holiday season is spent with the sky split in two.

Camp 2009

I've been home from Girl's Camp for two days now. I think I will be exhausted forever. We had rain, snow, frost, freezing cold temperatures, very little sleep at night, and seemed to be late for everything. We also had fabulous food, and a million laughs, worked together, shared our testimonies, made some great memories, and fostered friendships.

I got to spend 5 days with these girls:


and these girls:


and these ladies:


Thinking a lot about this and the blessings that it offers:



Know what? I'd do it again tomorrow and love every minute.

Think About It

We are a little behind in our movie watching. Erica and I were at the library this afternoon and while she picked out books I flipped through the movies and came across "Akeelah and the Bee". I'd heard of the movie, but never seen it, so checked it out and watched it tonight. The following quote was one of my favorite parts.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talents, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Online, the quote is attributed to Marianne Williamson in her book A Return to Love. I loved it. We mere mortals, you and I, have the potential to be and become something quite amazing. It's there inside you. The trick is to find it and let it out.

Hero Of My Day

The chemical you are currently viewing is my hero of the day. It is fluticasone proprionate. It stops runny noses, sneezing, itching, and watery eyes and is saving my sanity, the cartilage and skin at the end of my shnoz (is that really how you spell it?), and the soft palate at the back of my throat. Pretty amazing for one little chemical compound, don't you think! Just one beautiful, uneventful breath after another. The person(s) who came up with this lovely combination deserves a plate of cookies, a bunch of polleny flowers (just for symbolism), a Nobel prize (for the newly refound peace in my life!) and the $1,000,000 that comes with it. He/she/they certainly have my vote. Twice if I can swing it.

Simple Math

Tonight is one of the top favorite nights of the year if you are female at our house. The level of favoritism if you're male probably depends on who you are and your age bracket, but enjoyment is usually expressed by all (especially if it's not cold and everyone sleeps!). It's Father & Sons campout weekend. Know why it's the female favorite? It's very simple math, really.

Normally it looks something like this:
1 father+1 mother+1 daughter+4 sons = Our Family Most Of The Time (and I'm glad)

However, during Father & Sons campout it's more like this:
Our Family Most Of The Time-1 father-4 sons=1 mother + 1 daughter (and it's fun!)

See, simple.

I love my family dearly but sometimes it's nice to have a change of scenery. The males have a new sleeping arrangement for the night and the scenery at home changes a bit. Erica and I have a fun evening together and I don't have to pack a bag or sleep on the ground. What's not to love?!

We'll return the favor for the second year in a row when Erica and I head of to girl's camp later this summer, only we'll have to pack a BIG bag and sleep on the ground for 5 days instead of just one. Last year the males had a great week and Dad was the fun-meister. I don't see that changing at all this year.

Tonight we took it easy. Since camp is so close to home (we can pretty much see the canyon from the front yard) Greg thought it would be better to just eat dinner at home and not haul it all to camp. I agreed because I didn't have to shop for anything extra and then help pack it all. So, Erica and I didn't go out for dinner, but we did go get ice cream and stay up late watching movies. Just to let you know how wild and crazy we are- we stayed up late watching "Nativity" and "Mobsters and Mormons". Whew, bet you could hear the noise all the way at your house!

Now, I'm writing this post and Erica fell asleep on my bed. She can stay as long as she stays on her own side. Sleeping soundly and comfortably in my own bed is one of the perks of this particular night, after all, and I'm not giving it up. Sweet dreams!

Applesuace Cake

We did make the applesauce cake and we did take it over to Wally. I woke up in the middle of the night terrified that it tasted smoky. Oh well. Too late, now.

Doreen asked about the recipe for applesauce cake. I got the recipe from my friend, Sarah R., who used to live in our ward in NH. We love it because it tastes great. It reminds me of fall. I love it because you mix and bake in the same pan, there-by reducing the number of dishes. Also, this cake has no eggs (Sarah had allergic children), if that's something you're trying to avoid. I've never made it cutting the amount of oil involved, so I don't know how that would go. It would need at least a little to have the right texture, I think. I must also say that the recipe calls for baking in an 8 x 8 inch pan. I tried doubling it once and baking in a 9 x 13 inch pan and it did not turn out very well. I don't know if it's the size or if I did something wrong, just be aware that it may not work out if you try that. It tastes great alone or with the cream cheese frosting recipe on the back of the powdered sugar bags. We've had it both ways.


Applesauce Cake

1 cup whole white wheat flour
2/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. (generous) cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. applesauce
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. canola oil
1 tsp. vinegar (apple-cider or white)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flours, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt with a fork in an ungreased 8-in. x 8-in. square pan or Pyrex glass pie pan. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bake 35-40 minutes until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool before cutting.

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

My Favorite Day of the Week

In general, Monday's are right up there as far as favorite days go. There are a couple of reasons. First, I'm a huge fan of routines. This particular Monday comes after a 4-day weekend for us, so I was MORE than ready to get back into normal life. But, the more favorite part of Monday is clean sheets. I know, simple pleasures! No matter how crazy life gets, I always (ok, 99.99999% of the time!) wash sheets on Mondays- at least the ones from my bed. If the kids don't get theirs up to the laundry room, they miss out. It's amazing how consistent they usually are. Ryan would be our huge exception but, being a 7-year-old male, he's not able to appreciate clean anything yet.

There is just something about clean sheets. I'm kind of a nut about smells, anyway, but clean laundry smells are some of my favorites. Today I was ahead of the game as far as laundry goes, and even had time to throw in a load of bath mats. They're hanging in the bathrooms to dry, so those rooms smell awesome tonight, too. The best part of the favorite part of my Monday is actually climbing into those clean, crisp sheets at the end of the day. Mmmmmm! Makes my eyes close just thinking about it! So, I'm off to brush my teeth in a "clean-laundry" smelling bathroom and then climb into my "clean-laundry" smelling sheets. Perfect end to the day. Sweet dreams!