The Comforts of Home and Family

When I think of my childhood; some of my fondest memories took place in the kitchen, usually around the table. My mother was very good at preparing our meals. She would get up early in the morning before anyone else and make breakfast for her family. Sometimes after finishing the dishes we kids left from the night before. She made pancakes, waffles, eggs and bacon and toast, cinnamon rolls, or oatmeal, and my personal favorite were fried apple sauce hand pies, but very frequently she made biscuits and gravy. Usually my dad made the gravy because he was so good at it and I think he really enjoyed doing it.
When I left home for college nothing tasted like home cooking more than biscuits and sausage gravy. My father taught me at home how to make the sausage gravy and after much practice I flatter myself that I was able to make gravy as well as his. Mom tried to teach me how to make biscuits, but try as I might my biscuits always turned out small and hard in varying degrees. Never have they been the soft, light, fluffy, stout towers of homemade goodness my mother could produce over and over without a wink. Momma always told me that it just took a lot of practice, and one year I devoted my New Years Resolution to mastering the art of making baking powder biscuits. In four months of making them about once a week I finally was able to produce what I felt was passable.
One year I decided to take the Julia Child challenge and learn to cook from her books, which are more like entertaining textbooks. I think if anyone actually cooked each of the recipes in both volumes as they read them, they would be worthy of a culinary degree equal to Le Cordon Bleu. I have learned so much just from the first few chapters I read and cooked through. My gravy is consistently better and easier to make, my soups are better, and I think in general my cooking has been better since I understand the principles behind several techniques now.
I remembered seeing a read paperback among my grandmother's books with a fork and spoon on the cover and when I was buying my volumes of Julia Child's cookbooks I realized it was "Julia's Kitchen Wisdom" my grandmother had in her library. I ordered myself a hard cover copy and have used some of the recipes in it as well. Never mind about how the chocolate sponge turned out, but her method for hard boiled eggs are unbeatable and near the end of the book, she shares a baking powder biscuit recipe as near to the biscuits a guest from New Orleans made on her show.
My mother always told me when making baking powder biscuits it is important to work the dough as little as possible and Julia shares this tip as well in her cookbook. I have added a few of my own techniques to this recipe as my mother shared with me; for instance, Julia said to bake them at 425 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. When I cooked them that long they were more dry and hard than I liked. My mother said it was best to bake them fast and hot. However; my toaster oven only goes to 450 degrees F, so that is where I put it and baked them for about 15 minutes. When they came out all golden I worried I had cooked them too long, but I applied butter to the tops and they were just so tender, light, and fluffy. After eating them with gravy and eggs, I just about couldn't stop eating them with Smuckers Natural Strawberry jam. (It tastes as close to homemade jam as a store-bought version possible could.) So good!
I'm still not as good at making biscuits as my mother, but if I follow this recipe closely, I don't have to be. 
(Aside from folding it 6 times, I just did four because it started to feel like it was coming together too much.)

Baking Powder Biscuits

By Julia Child and David Nussbaum As Given By Bethany Thompson

2 Cups All-Purpose King Arthur Flour
1 2/3 Tbsp Rumford Double Acting Baking Powder (shake before opening the can to mix it up well.)
¾ tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Sugar (2 Tbsp for sweet biscuits.)
¾ Cup Crisco
1 Cup Milk (1%)

Grease a fairly small pan.
Mix dry ingredients so there are no lumps and the flour is aerated.
Cut in Shortening with a pastry-cutter using "light rapid movements", till shortening pieces are the size of peas.
Pour in half of the milk and stir with table knife- cutting and using "light rapid movements" till it needs more liquid and pour in the rest of the milk all at once. Stir as before until only a little dryish flour remains in some spots.
Scoop onto a well-floured surface (I put down freezer paper and floured it well, scooping the dough onto it with my floury hand.)
"As a gently type of kneading, lift the far side up over onto the near side, pat it out gently into a fat circle, sprinkle on a little flour as necessary, then lift the left side over the right, the right over left, and so forth, giving 6 folds in all. Finally spread and pat the dough into a reasonably smooth rectangle 3/4 inch thick." (Mine was a circle that might have been an inch thick, it's important for them to be quite thick.) The dough should feel fairly sticky at first. After the gentle kneading process the dough should still feel cool and soft but only slightly sticky.
Cut out circular biscuits about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
Folding the scraps together gently to cut out more until one biscuit sized piece of dough remains. (I form this one into a thick round with my hands and set it in the middle as it is sure to be dryer than the rest and will retain more moisture there.)
Julia and most everyone else say biscuits should be places in a pan spaced away from each other and that is what I did, but my Mother, the Biscuit Guru, says they should be crowed closely together and I agree with her- so they can build in height instead of slumping over to one side like mine did.
Bake in 475-500*F oven for 6-8 minutes. Brake one open to test for doneness. (It should be moist and fluffy not doughy on the inside, and the outside should be only lightly golden on a few edges.)
Best served warm with butter and honey, fruit, jam, apple butter, fried eggs or country gravy- or all of the above for a feasty pleasure!

Makes 12 biscuits.

A New Year and a New Member of the Family!

First of all I would like to officially announce; although I already told all my family and someone else told my Superman's family (sorry I didn't get to tell you myself), I am 11 weeks and 6 days pregnant!
I am feeling less and less nauseated and pooped, and more and more like I want to get to work preparing for this little one's arrival.
I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be a mother at last; although the circumstances are less thrilling for those involved, I know the Lord will bless us for following his commandment to have children. (even though it's wasn't planned.)
I feel a little sad I have neglected this blog over the past year. Coming back to it I realize how much I've done with it and how much I really like it. I have used this blog in the past to track my small families activities and such, but now I am thinking maybe I should combine all my other blogs to this one and just write what I want to be writing not just family news. I'm pretty sure family is the only readers I have anyway and I shouldn't redirect them all the time to my different projects. Thanks for your patience and support you all!
So what I have been doing on my other blogs is writing about cooking and writing about becoming more self-sustaining and less reliant on convenience, which is more expensive, and thus spending less. I have planted at garden of carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers and strawberries. I started cutting my own bangs and coloring my hair myself. I started making my family's bread from scratch, and I now make my own laundry soap.

Now, I am working on making my own cloth diapers, knitting wool booties and making a baby quilt. See how baby has taken over all my priorities! Hahaha.

Busy Bees

Well now, it's been more than five months since my last post and that's probably because I started a few other blogs and this one has just been left behind.Here's what we've been up to at my house:

My Superman fixed his mother's bumper..

I've been Card-making! Real surprise huh?

This set is from a while back when my mother and sister sent me a package of cards to make, I recently finished the last one and photographed them all together.

This set was sent to me later by my mother.

This one I cased after my mother bought me the stamp set and paper and inks for my birthday in April. I gave the card to my Grandmother-in-law for her birthday.

 This one I cased but added my own flare after my mother sent me a flower punch and a new stamp set.

 I made this card for my Dear Dad for Father's Day, and I later made another one a little different, both cased.

 This one did not turn out at all like the one I was using for inspiration, but I love how it turned out anyway. One of my very best friends got married this last weekend and I made this card to go with her gift. She loves daisies and yellow!

 I made this one right after but I think I will go back and add a strip of green above the owl like I did on the other one.

My husband and I have a truck and for some unknown reason last year it kept picking up screws and nails. (We suspect foul play but have no evidence ;).) The last screw that punctured the wheel ripped into the sidewall (a little poor driving on my part but if you ask me I'll deny it!) So my husband plugged it and we continued sparingly driving on it for some time. For fear of the tire blowing out we decided it would be wise to replace our well worn tires and felt an upgrade was necessary considering some of the terrain we tend to end up in. We purchased a small lift for the front and both got very dirty installing it ourselves one night. Here is Superman dirty from another hard day's work and doing his Zoolander impression:

He's so cute!
So then we were able to fit the larger all-terrain wheels onto our truck and realign it. Here are before and after pics:

 Maybe you can't tell, but the front end is now level with the back and the tires are larger and better quality. I feel so grateful we were able to take care of a problem before it became a bigger problem.

"Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it...yet."

Happy New Year!
The holidays seem to rush by faster every year; I still can't believe they're over.
I had a very busy year end I feel I should wrap up on here. Somehow with all my other priorities, writing my blog seems to fall by the wayside. I hope you all had a good year! I feel like I did. Anyway here's a few telling photos since July:
A friend had a baby girl, so I was busy with these...

My hair always gets redder in the fall and then darker brown in the winter and it's kind of a downer so I colored it this year.

Superman and I carved pumpkins with friends the day before Halloween.

On Halloween I made Treats while we handed out candy to Trick or Treaters.

I should have taken more pictures the rest of this year, maybe that can be one of my resolutions for 2012.
This year we spent Thanksgiving in my home town with my parents and younger brother. It was a Thanksgiving to remember. My mother and I made four pies and a quiche (for the first time.) We had such a good time baking together! Superman got to try out the Star Wars game beta, and took us all to see the new Twilight movie, New Dawn I. (Which I liked despite the teen drama.) We all had a good time and I didn't want to leave, but all good things must come to an end at some point I suppose.
When we came back we went to our friends' baby's blessing and barbeque, which was also fun.
Superman and I made Carmel Popcorn again on our anniversary, which turned out a little harder than we usually go for but still my-oh-my-delicious.
For Christmas, my husband's brother came to visit from out of state and has stayed till year end, as well as Superman's sister and her husband and two children, who left this morning to drive home to another state. We had a wonderful time during their visit. My other brother-in-law and his family came over for a Christmas Eve family dinner of enchilada pot luck, and then for Christmas dinner which my Mother-in-law and I made. It was fun to host and feed everyone, I really enjoyed cooking with my husband as we made enchiladas together and then the Christmas turkey together. (Which was a beautiful golden brown, and I really should have taken a picture of it.) My husband really is the most wonderful man I know!
We went over to Superman's brother's house for dinner and games the night after Christmas, and the gift giving continued. Superman and his brother-in-law were both given remote controlled helicopters for Christmas and they had a blast flying them all week. It was great to have little children around for Christmas, and to see the cousins playing together seemed to make everyone feel more unified as a family. I am grateful I have such great in-laws, and I hope we will have many more memorable gatherings as we did this past year.

New Cards

I went to visit my sister a couple of weeks ago, before she moves to the other side of the continent. My parents and brother were there too to see her and her family. We had a wonderful time! My mom, my sister and I made several cards. We also baked doughnuts, zuchini bread and lemon blueberry swiss roll. Here are some of the cards we made and the sources of our templates:
These were the first I made with my mother's "countryside" stamp set, click on the picture to see the template we cased.

These next three we cased with my sister's "aviary" stamp set

 

Since I ran out of time, my mother and sister sent me home with the provisions to make this one.

We decided, each month, to send one another the provisions to make a card each of us are making; this is the one I made and am sending my sister and mother to make for themselves this month.

Hope you ladies like it as much as I do! Click on the photo to see the inspiration for this card. Hope you have fun, I love you!

Happy Mother's Day!

Last month for my birthday my sister took me to the Scrapbooking Convention. It was so much fun! I feel so lucky to have such a great sister whom I can share creativity with. My sister and I also visited  Michaels the night before and I bought some stamps which I used this month to make Mother's Day Cards. I made this card for my mother whom I feel is one of the neatest of persons I have ever known. She is generous and kind and thoughtful, always ready to give a tender hug of comfort, always willing to lend a loving helping hand to those in need; she is a great example, and I love her and my father for giving their lives for their children and raising us the best they could and teaching us to be honest and good people.

 I made this card for my mother-in-law, who is also a good woman, who taught her children to love the Lord and be good people, who loves to give a good gift, and always tries to protect her family the best she can. My husband's mother has a genuine concern for others and unconquerable spirit, and I love her for the strength she gives her family.

My husband is very supportive and encouraging of my card making, and other creative outlets, he requested this card and gave me feedback as I made it. I feel I am the luckiest woman alive to have my Superman. He is one of the best of men.

There are many other mothers I would like to have sent cards to; my sister and my sister-in-laws, and my husbands grandmother- they are all amazing women I love and admire.

Time

Another Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, and St. Patrick's Day have past; and boy, it sounds like a long time when I think of it in those terms. When I was a kid I felt like it took ages for a month to pass, and now a month passes so quickly I can hardly live it. I'm not sure if time passes more quickly as I age because I have more or less to think about... Or is it because I am larger? Does time pass slower for a squirrel than for me, because he is smaller and the world so much larger than he?
I seem to have been trapped in time. People are always telling me I look 10 years younger than I am; yet if they knew what I looked like when I was 19, would they still think me unchanged...
I suppose some of you may be wondering what I did during all these holidays while I have posted nothing for you to read.
Lets see how little I accomplished as compared with a child. I learned how to make lovely rolls for Thanksgiving and a proper loaf of bread. Superman and I put up our very first real Christmas Tree, and the new ornaments of the year were a soldier boy I found (and could not resist to buy) and two snowflakes I crocheted during the year. I did not visit my family for New Years since my parents were snowed in. For Valentines Day my husband gave me an edible bouquet and I took him golfing (his new golf bag didn't arrive in time.) Oh, and I did make heart sugar cookies of coarse.
For St. Patrick's day I wore a green shirt to work and a St. Patrick's Day button I bought back when I worked for a party supply store.
I have almost finished knitting a hat for a pregnant friend's baby (I will later post pictures when it is finished.)
Last night I ate at The Sugar Bowl for the first time. I had and amazing banana split with the best strawberry sauce and vanilla ice cream I have ever tasted! It was everything I would expect from an old fashioned icecream parlor. Mmmm.

Just so Stories

I finished reading the Just So Stories this week. As I was reading them I realized I had read them before; actually my mother read them to me because I hated not to finish a book, but I thought the stories were ridiculous and impertinent. This time when I read them I think I understood better Kipling's intentions  in writing such nonsensical stories. I was able to laugh more readily. I've found at certain times of my life when a book would mean something different to me than another time, like when I read Tom Sawyer Abroad by Mark Twain. The first time I tried to read Tom Sawyer Abroad, it was a very laborious undertaking and I didn't enjoy it one bit. I read about halfway through the book and gave it up for another time. The next time I picked up Tom Sawyer Abroad, I loved it. It's a wonderful book and Mark Twain is ingenious! I just wasn't ready for that kind of book the first time I started to read it. I have learned; if you pick up a book and just can't get into it, put it down and read something else till you are ready for it. Years later when I feel ready to try again, and I know the time is right, I get much more out of it.

At Long Last!

At long last I finally had the opportunity this week to order a teapot for myself! My husband received a gift card from Amazon.com for a schoolbook he turned in and told me I could order anything I wanted with that card. I have wanted a real teapot for so long, and now for the first time since my play set as a child, I have my very own. I exercised much deliberation about my first teapot- color, size, brand. After my research I decided on a British-made Brown Betty and it arrived today along with a new book I will read for the first time (Walden, by Henry David Thoreau).
It stands to reason that the British would know the proper way to make a cup of tea. ;) Cauldon Ceramics explains very well the reasons I decided a Brown Betty Tea Pot suited my purposes, "During Queen Victoria's reign, tea became a symbol of Britain's greatest period of expansion and stability. Every home owned a teapot, even if it was a basic "Brown Betty". Tea was no longer a refined, upper class beverage but a basis of a whole meal.

While Charleston dancers and many Victorian glamours have disappeared for the scene, the humble "Brown Betty" teapot has still remained a firm favourite. Its origins go back to the end of the 17th century and to the birth of the British Ceramic teapot; although in 1700 an ordinary small unglazed teapot made of Red Clay from the Bradwell Woods area in Stoke-on-Trent was a luxury item costing about 12 shillings.

Our Brown Betty Teapots are still made from Terracotta and used by the Elder Brothers in 1965. Their method of making was by "Jollying' but in later years it became 'Slip Casting giving a smooth finish and even thickness. Rockingham Brown Glaze complies US FDA and California Proposition 65. The pots are microwave and heat resistant.

Succeeding generations of English men have proved that the Brown Betty, as these Red Ware teapots are affectionately known, make the best pot of tea in the world. The shape of the pot causes the tea leaves to be gently swirled around as the boiling water is added, thus producing an exquisite infusion. The Red Terracotta Clay with its Rockingham Glaze, Coddles the brew and gives the perfect cup of tea."

After opening my much anticipated package, I washed my purchase and began to steep my first pot of perfectly brewed tea. What could be more appropriate than some Twinings herb tea for the first brew of many in my authentic new Brown Betty? ("In 1706 Thomas Twining started selling fine tea in England. Today, Twinings still sells some of the world's best teas from the original store in the Strand, London, and in more than 100 countries throughout the world.") Amazingly enough it did taste so much better than I'd ever had my Twinings Peppermint Herb Tea before. I used some fresh home harvested honey (my Hometeacher had given my family) to sweeten my tea and had some crackers and my homemade Blueberry Jam to accompany it. I've heard that good rituals can bring a sense of well-being and security and are a necessary element in a stable lifestyle. I can definitely see the benefits of incorporating a relaxing routine such as enjoying a pot of tezane on a daily basis.

Bit of a Disappointment

I found The Call of the Wild to be less entertaining for me than most other books, I'm glad I chose a short Jack London book to read. I found the author wrote a predictable and violent story. -Maybe men would enjoy reading about the violence. I did appreciate the author's depiction of the harsh life of dog sledders in Alaska and Canada, and the interpretation of the dog's perception. I disliked and disagree with the author's theory of evolution and mankind's primal ancestry, but it was still interesting and I mildly enjoyed it.

Shoes

I love my shoes. There is nothing like a good leather shoe (the only thing shoes should be made of except maybe canvas) and yet they are so hard to find. If I should find some leather shoes, you can bet they will cost me 3 times as much as they should or they may be only partially leather. What is up with our world where I can't even find a good pair of shoes for less than $90.00!
Superman bought me these flats months ago and I have been so glad to have them. They cost more than they ought but they are comfortable and simple and they breath so much better than plastic. Aren't they cute! They are Clarks and I don't know why it makes a difference but they are an artisan. Shouldn't every shoe company be skilled in their art? Why should I have to pay more money for some stitching to tell me my shoes were made skillfully? Maybe we, as a society, are too accepting of mediocrity. -Something to think about.

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre is now one of my favorite books, cherished along side Little Women and Anne of Green Gables! I don't know why I let the movie frighten me out of reading the book for so long. (The movie was so very mournful!)

Charlotte Bronte writes with eloquence and extensive vocabulary. The characters are so well developed they seem to be real persons in the world. I love what strong moral fiber the heroine has and what courage and faith. Jane teaches one to think virtuously and compassionately. Charlotte Bronte is humorous, sincere and captivating. I wanted only to be reading Jane Eyre until I was finished. Truely a classic, written with real talent and feeling. This is a book fit to help shape the young minds of America and I think I will always read it to my own children.

Mourning Our Loss

Black Bart, our black moor fish, died last night. He was almost three years old. Jon bought him to befriend another oranda gold fish we won in a game night at our singles' ward when we were first dating. So, he's been in the family for years! I already miss him. Maybe it's silly to miss a fish but he was our first family pet and he had a fun personality... Yes, he had personality and that's probably why I liked him so much. (I usually don't like fish at all.) Bart's left a little hole in our already small family now, but I just can't think of getting another fish. We'll just have to wait to get a new pet until we can keep a dog. The End.

Join The Fight Against Mingled Fragrances!

Over the years I have been the recipient of dozens of perfumes, scented lotions, body washes, candles, bath salts, soaks, and pearls. I could probably empty them all into my bathtub for a pungent vat of pampering moonshine. Honestly, I think scented gifts are a little too widely assumed to be a generally acceptable pleasure for all females. Yes, as little girls we covet them because we are not allowed to wear them, and because we have not identified our own preference, but fragrance is particularly subject to individuality.
I have enjoyed trying out new fragrances for years; but from now on, and I think many a woman would agree with me, I'd like to be my own buyer. Unless a particular fragrance is requested, I feel it would be most acceptable to just give a good quality fragrance-free lotion, candle, or body wash.
I have found, what I really enjoy, is a good skin-quenching lotion that won't linger on my skin, a long lasting candle to soften the tension at the end of a long day, and a good soap that won't leave residue on my body. May I suggest, face masks are a very nice relaxing "me time" treat too, and I think just about any kind of 'Mud Mask' will do. I've tried lots of them and there isn't one I have disliked.
With the holidays coming up I'd like to sound my plea to the gift givers all over- in behalf of women everywhere, I love you and I appreciate your thoughtfulness and I think you're wonderful, but please, this year don't add to my melage of fragrances that won't ever smell well together. Go FRAGRANCE-FREE! :) Thanks, and I hope no one is offended by my honesty.

Book Worm Syndrome

Today I had a short day at work and when I came home I finished reading Mansfield Park. What a long book it was, it finally became intriguing about halfway through the book and the climax was not so riveting. Although I would not call it Jane Austen's finest piece, I did enjoyed it very much. I think maybe her next book, Emma, was probably so wonderful because of the experience in writing Mansfield Park.

Now I have only Jane Austen's unfinished novels, Lady Susan, The Watsons and Sanditon, left to read and then I will have explored all of this great author's novel genius. That's a sad thought, I think I will revisit Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion, and Sense and Sensibility from time to time.

I think I'll read Jane Eyre next. I can't believe it's taken me this long to finally read Jane Eyre; it seems as if everyone else has read it except me. I have a great many classics to read to catch up to everyone else. Most people I meet read books in high school that I never read, and even in college I was spared of reading any novels except in personal reading and by my own desire to be well read. I am a slow reader however, and I have a long way to go. It's a good thing I enjoy reading.

Patience, the Ultimate Virtue? -A Soap Box

Superman and I listened to the Priesthood session during the break between General Conference sessions on Easter Sunday. Elder Uchtdorf's talk on Patience really struck a cord with me. During his talk I remembered pondering the virtue of patience when I was a teenager, and how hard I'd worked on developing it.
Working in retail can really tax your patience, but I'm sure that's true of any job. Not only at work but everywhere I go I find my patience overcome by annoyance and judgement. I see immature people driving, ignorant people voting, irresponsible people raising children, and self-centered people shopping. You might say, "Oh how judgemental; who am I to point out the flaws of others." I only can see the world no longer values the same virtues it once did, and I see it in the people of the world. I'm afraid to raise children in it because I want something better, and more wholesome for my children.
I feel so relieved when I see someone doing a good deed, speaking respectfully to another, cleaning up, or favoring a gracious gesture. I think if I can just do as much good as I can, and be patient with the rest of the world, there are enough people out there just trying to do good that it will prevail.
I am glad to be reminded not to give up on patience.

A Quick Summery From February To Now..

Well well, I have skipped over much of the past couple of months, but I will briefly mention a few of the goings on now.
I had to work on Valentine's Day, but when I got home I first found a dozen red roses for me in the kitchen and then a live orchid waiting for me with my sweet husband. I don't remember what we had for dinner but my husband is a New York Cheesecake buff so I made a Junior's Cheesecake for dessert. It was heavenly.

In march I finished my Aunt's apron and sent it to her, but I believe I already wrote about that, so here is a picture of it.

My sister-in-law's birthday was in march and she loves chocolate so I made two chocolate cakes for her birthday. The first was a chocolate sponge cake with dark chocolate ganache from my Julia Child Cookbooks. The second was a Betty Crocker mix chocolate cake with Pillsbury Fudge Chocolate frosting.
Superman and I had a wonderful Easter, we had lots of fun Easter treats, listened to General Conference, and we had deviled eggs with lunch. Last month was my birthday and Jon took me out to eat with my friends and then we had cake and ice cream at home with family. By the way, Texas Roadhouse makes you sit in a saddle on a wooden horse while they announce it's your birthday and everyone shouts, " Yeehaw!" at you. It's not too embarrassing, but all you get for it is a scoop of vanilla ice cream (although it was pretty amazing ice cream.)

I have been growing tomato and bell pepper plants from seeds in egg cartons and next month I will transplant them into the back yard. In a couple of months I should be able to harvest my first crop! I'm so excited; look how tall and green and healthy they are getting, this is my first vegetable garden I'll be planting by myself. Superman has been a great help actually, he has watered the seedlings when I forgot and has been helping me prepare the earth in the backyard for transplanting. I plan to plant peas in the plot soon too.

Mothers

I am not a mother myself yet; although, I want to be. Motherhood is one of the most intimidatingly important tender desires of my heart. It intimidates me because of how people are being raised these days and how differently I want to raise up children of my own to be. I see people around me everyday who are indecent, impolite, crude, careless, irresponsible, and selfish among other things. It frightens me to think I have all of these ugly influences to overcome to teach my children to be decent, polite, generous, responsible, charitable and hard working people. I will just have to devote every thought and effort to teaching them to live healthy virtuous lives. At the same time I know I don't want to, and CAN'T, micromanage my family so I will just have to do my best. I think maybe that's what most women want and how they feel about becoming a mother.
I hope my own mother knows how deeply grateful I am to her for leaving work to raise us kids and for sacrificing so much time, thought, and effort to make sure we were taught right and felt loved and secure. Thanks Mom, I hope I will follow your good example when I have my own children. I also want to thank all the other good mothers out there who are carefully raising their children to be decent members of society. Thank you for your sacrifices you Beautiful Women!

Discovering a New Strategy

This week I used my new trifle bowl for the first time! I made a banana pudding in it. Isn't it beautiful? ...Well for a first attempt maybe?... Okay okay, I need practice. This trifle bowl from pampered chef is awesome though; it has a removable pedestal and a lid, so if I need to I can stick it in the fridge as is! I'm all about minimal clean up.. and my bright orange mixer!

I finally loaded my pictures onto my computer so I have to show you the new apron my sister-in-law made for me for Christmas. The orange stripes match my mixer! My oldest brother's wife is so crafty especially with the sewing machine.
She also made my husband a jean and flannel blanket for Christmas. Isn't she amazing?

Last week I unpacked my blender and I've been making a lot of smoothies and milk shakes ever since. When I was growing up my family never used the blender much and I think I had my first real smoothie when I was 23. I discovered jamba juice and made it a once a week ritual for a while. (I love the Peanut Butter Mood minus the Chocolate and with extra banana.) So cooking with the blender has been a gradual and unnatural discovery for me. Luckily I have my years working at Dairy Queen experience to fall back on.
Now I'm using my blender as a way to get fruit into my husband. Superman is allergic to many fruits and the only way he can eat them is if they are mixed up with other fruit or in something. I mix sherbet with a banana, cherry juice, berries, and Naked juice. It makes a pretty delicious breakfast for him and it makes me happy because now I know he's getting his vitamins and fiber. So, for anyone else out there who is struggling to bring fruit into her man's diet I thought I'd share the strategy. ;)

My Pampered Chef Party!

I hosted a Pampered Chef party this weekend after my birthday and we had a really good time. We learned how to make Strawberry-Coconut Tres Leche Trifle and tried a whole bunch of fun tools to make our lives easier in the kitchen. You can find the recipe in the Spring/Summer 2010 Season's Best recipe book in addition to many other recipes offered for only a dollar! One of the things I am ordering this week is the Trifle Bowl. I will now have something to build my banana pudding in that will also look pretty fancy! Here are some more trifle recipes Pampered Chef is offering on the website!
For those friends who were unable to come, you can still check out the website and order from my party for the next few days here. Just enter my first name in the first yellow box, click "search for host" then click on my name (in blue) when it uploads. You can shop, download recipes, and place your order securely! Have fun!